Political Philosophies

Hobbes, Locke, and Montesquieu

Some terms we should know

• Limited Government is the philosophy that government does not have absolute authority.

• State of nature is the philosophy regarding how humans would act in their most basic state without a civil government.

• The state of war idea stems from Hobbes’ belief that in the state of nature, people were always at war with one another, a war of all against all. Each individual was endowed with the right to do anything they pleased and people were in constant fear for their lives.

What do the philosophers think?HOBBES

• Hobbes believed the state of nature in which man lived before the formation of society was founded on a savage selfishness, which drove man to obtain pleasure without concern for justice or mercy toward other men.

• Hobbes felt that nations, like people, were selfishly motivated. To Hobbes, each country was in a constant battle for power and wealth. To prove his point, Hobbes wrote, "If men are not naturally in a state of war, why do they always carry arms and why do they have keys to lock their doors?"

What do the philosophers think?LOCKE• People are basically reasonable and sociable, but

they are self interested. People who are smarter and stronger would often try to take away the life, liberty, and property of the weak

• In a state of nature, your rights and their enjoyment would be insecure. You would be in constant danger of losing them

• The best way to solve this problem in the state of nature is for each individual to agree with others to create and live under a government and give it the power to make and enforce laws.

What do the Philosophers think?

• Baron de Montesquieu– Political liberty exists only when governments

treat people fairly– If we give people power, it is human nature that

they will abuse power, so if we give someone in government too much power, they will abuse it

– Governments have to be structured in a way that prevent an abuse of power, so people don’t loose their political liberty