Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Wollstonecraft

Looking to the science of the day, Hobbes determined that at that place was no soul and attempted to describe hu hu gentlemans gentlemanness nature as unming conduct mechanics. Human nature was therefore driven by the need to punish the physical demands of the body and base on basic passions in life. These atomic number 18 to satisfy physical appetites, to seek indicant to maintain their wealth and to be superior to others by seeking glory. Hobbes saw the state nature as solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. The state of nature is anarchy, with constant violence (or potential violence) by amoral leadership terrorizing the population.Reason is the answer that pass on lead to a loving guide and government. Individuals get out give up their individual rights and freedoms to secure peace. Morality and property apprise and then be dictated by the state, since humans nature is non equipped to handle those concepts without conflict. This will everyow each person to the n pursue their own self-interests without fear of violence. The sovereign effectiveness is the office or institution of government that is gougeed by the batch. It is the artificial construct onto which the powers argon conveyed by the tender get.The only limits to the sovereigns powers atomic number 18 self-imposed, since it moldinessiness exist outside of the population although it should al airs strive for the good of the bulk to remain legitimate. Civil justice is dictated by the sovereign. Civil law should be designed to promote well-being and progress for order with admit punishments for law breakers. Hobbes believed in an absolute monarchy. By making one man in charge, it would make it easy for the mint to understand their roles and obey laws.With no conf using dissension or contrary views, pot do non have to waste time and effort making political decisions later completely, thats why they entered the social bewilder in the first place. He did non, however, believe in the divine right or hereditary kings the contract was conveyed upon an ancestor, which has no bearing on the legitimacy of the heir to rule. Although Lockes views are similar to Hobbes, they are non quite as grim and fearful. confus subject to Hobbes, he believes that people are naturally free and reach. Locke believes that man is social by nature and is naturally moral, rational and egoistic.In a state of nature, man will commonly act with a mutual trust and love and honor their commitments and obligations to other. Although he emphasizes these positive traits of humanity, he recognizes that since that is not always the case, people will need to fake a type of social contract to preserve their rights and liberties. For Hobbes, natural law is a selfish state where people do not recognize the rights of others property and liberty. Locke believes that, although they dont always act in accordance with it, man inherently knows right from wrongly and are capable of act ing in a lawful manner.The inclination of government is to preserve the rights to life, liberty, health and property of its golf club and to pursue the human beings good even where this whitethorn conflict with the rights of individuals. It is also to punish wrongdoers and transgressors of the laws it sets for the putting surface good. Since ones path to salvation and religious preferences fall outside those boundaries, government should not enforce or espouse any one organise of religious belief over another. Class and hierarchy is a natural outgrowth of Lockes views on property.Credited as the founder of the Protestant work ethic, Locke believed that those who worked difficult will possess more. By agreeing to have money be an equalizing federal agent for trade, this will naturally contribute to some having more wealth than others. This is bonny and natural, as long as the producers are works without injustice or injury to others. In retrospect, Locke may be considered th e father of feminism. Although he save believed women should be subordinate to men, he also noted that women were capable of cause and equally shared in the paternal power of raising children.Most notably, he claimed that marriage was a contract entered into by both parties and that both should be able to dissolve the contract at will it took almost ccc years for society to catch up and instigate no imperfection divorces. Locke believed government should be holded with both an executive and legislative branches. The legislative determines the laws and may assign judicial, or magistrates, to exercise it. The executive is responsible for enforcing the laws and conducting contrasted affairs. There should be a system of checks and balances amid the deuce branches, to keep off despotism and illegitimate governments.Since a monarchy puts the power of both branches into one person, Locke believed all monarchies to be illegitimate forms of government. By advocating some form of repre sentative or democratic government, society fag end insure that there representatives are working in their best interests. Despotism occurs when either of the two branches of government authorize their authority and begin acting against the benefit of the people. Civil society can then remove the offenders from office through their electoral process or agree to set up a new form of government.When the people are denied these means to choose their government, violent revolution may be the answer. Rousseau believes that the state of nature is solitary existence guided by two principles self-preservation and pardon. Social interactions were driven by the necessity to satisfy their own needfully war and aggression would be unlikely, since primitive mans compassion drove him to avoid suffering of others. Civilization and establishment of nuclear families led to the beginnings of society, which corrupted the state of nature and led to human nature.Human nature is based on oppression and inequality, the haves dominating over the have nots. Society and governments were naturalized to protect the rights and properties of the few landowners without regard to the rights of the laborers. His path to liberation is paved with a just, moral polished society that works for the benefit of all of its members. mess must draw on their compassion and work towards the good of society, instead than selfish goals. In this manner, a social contract can be formed that will benefit all of society.Rousseaus social contract involves an overhaul of courteousization and a community that is willing to that is willing to lay off all of their rights. Although not necessarily a violent revolution, he suggests that emancipate people form a new community and create a government. This moral body of citizens would only consider the greater good and not selfish, private interests. He does not envision this to be without economic inequality, however, as long as it does not interfere wit h political equality there should not be a situation where one man is able to buy or sell a vote.The basis of legislative power is the general will of the people. Although entrance into the community must be unanimous, select is done by majority. All citizens must participate in consecrate discussion before pick out. Votes should only be counted from those expressing the general will those voting based on selfish interests should be discounted, although no practical way of knowing or enforcing this is described. Since authority and freedoms all reside within the general will, transgressors against the general will can be coerced or forced to dislodge themselves.There are underlying conditions necessary for the formation of the social contract. There must be a legislator, a divinely enlightened man who will lead the community into an understanding of its true public interest. He initiates the contract and then retires before he can be corrupted. A civil religion is necessary, one that does not divide the communitys loyalties. The civil religion is founded on the way of life of the citizens, including customs and traditions. It must imply belief in God, immortality of the soul and the social contract.The society must be small, modeled after the polis, and agricultural in nature, rather than founded on barter or industry. The executive institutions are the bureaucracy of the sovereign. The magistrate lays down the laws and is supported by policeman and jailors. The censor is in charge of compliance with the civil religion, using education to guide people. The censor monitors the arts and sciences to insure people are not whiling away their time and distraction themselves from the common good.Two other offices may be used in exigent circumstances to allow for checks on the government. A tribunate can be used to limit the magistrate or a dictator can be used as supreme commanding officer in war or natural disasters. Government should take the form of a repub lic, with full participation in the legislature and delegation of authority for the executive. Depending on the wealth and size of the state, monarchy, non-hereditary aristocracy or democracy could be acceptable forms of executive. Rousseau was adamant that men and women were vastly different and should be amend appropriately.Men should learn a trade and how to become an enlightened citizen. Women should learn how to go on children, tend house and be a good wife. He did not consider women rational enough to be citizens. Education is not to be done by rote memorization, but is instead to take the form of exploration and learning through experience. In direct response to Rousseau, Wollstonecraft argues that educating women in the same fashion as men makes them better able to usage in the roles of wife, mother and daughter.She argues that virtues are not gender specific, but without equal education, women cannot achieve virtues founded on knowledge. Since education begins in the hom e and mothers were to raise the children, women must be educated to be better mothers and provide their children with necessary education. Wollstonecraft sees human nature as truly equal, including equality between the sexes. The basic capacities of all humans are the same for reason and knowledge and the difference between the sexes has arisen out of the societal constructs that separate them.She supported the concept of a social contract, albeit with the inclusion of women as fully realized citizens. She did not believe that either a monarchy or aristocracy could be a legitimate form of government since it perpetuates the subordination of women. She considers property to be as one of the ills of society because it gives rise to the societal problems, which contribute to keeping women ignorant and subordinate. Civil society must be founded on reason, which women are as capable of as men given the proper opportunities and education.