Leviathan; Book That Made the Case for Absolute Power of Government / Kings

Quick Review of Philosophers
AP / DC Government

Colby

Hobbes

·  Leviathan; book that made the case for absolute power of government / kings

·  Government has absolute power in order to preserve order in society; does not need the consent of the governed. King/Government is sovereign.

·  There is never a reason or justification to overthrow government because any government is better than none.

·  World view developed from Hobbes seeing the savagery of the English Civil War

·  State of nature exists where every person is against each other – “continued fear and danger of violent death; and the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

·  People lay down their natural rights of equality and freedom to give absolute power to the sovereign government. Once this is done there is no right to revolt.

·  Hobbes called the initial surrender of rights the “social contract”

Locke

·  Second Treatise on Civil Government; outlined the role of government, social contract, and idea of rights

·  Kings/governments who act beyond their authority to protect and enforce the natural rights of individuals violated the social contract.

·  Men are reasonable; but in a state of nature are constantly in danger of losing their rights.

·  In a state of nature people have natural rights including life, liberty, property, and to act as judge and executioner. They surrender the last two in order to protect the rest.

Montesquieu

·  The Spirit of the Laws

·  In nature men are afraid of violence and war, but join together in societies to meet the better meet their basic needs. This causes them to lose their sense of weakness and results in a sense of inequality thus leading to war.

·  Main purpose of government is to maintain law and order, political liberty, and the property of the individual.

·  Proposed three branches of government to check and limit powers by separating them; executive, legislative and judicial. Checks and Balances and Separation of Powers.

Rousseau

·  The Social Contract; “Men are born free and everywhere he is in chains.”

·  All people as a unit are the sovereign; the government exists to enact the general will of the people.

·  In a state of nature all people are free, equal, peaceful, and happy; the beginning of attempts to claim and own property led to inequality, murder, and war.

·  Created the idea that later would be referred to as “popular sovereignty”.

·  The general will is determined by a majority vote of the people; direct democracy.

·  People who do not want to follow the will of the people can choose to leave the state and no longer be a citizen. If they want to remain a citizen they can be forced to follow the general will.