Which Philosophy is More Useful For Us Now?

There are many types of governments that that are currently in effect throughout the world, however many of them have the basic principles of either the philosophy of John Locke and the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. The philosophy of John Locke most closely relates to a democracy and capitalism, a government that is ruled by the voices of the people. The people have the power to elect their leaders, and also overthrow them. On the contrary, Hobbes concepts most closely relate to dictatorship governments such as communism and fascism. A ruler is elected who has absolute power to unite everyone under him and make decisions on his own for the wellbeing of their country. While both philosophies have strong followers, John Locke’s philosophy would be most useful to modern day.

The ideas presented in Locke’s philosophy would be most useful for today’s age. His philosophy explains that all men have natural rights. These “natural rights such as life, liberty, and property existed in the state of nature and could never be taken away or even voluntarily given up by individuals (John Locke WS).” These inalienable rights belong to the people and having a dictator in power do not change these rights. Since man’s rights cannot be taken away, a democracy would be the best government to keep the people safe and still voice their concern about their country. To people now, freedom is very important and having a philosophy that limits freedom is unjust and can’t be considered fair to the people.

Locke’s philosophy also referred to peoples freedom of thought, speech, religion, and what he considered to be the most important, property. He claimed the government was mainly needed to promote the “public good;” to protect the people’s property. He also believed that government roles should only be filled with those who are fit to take them, meaning those who own property have the right to vote. In the modern age, many countries have adopted this idea but with slight changes, such as the requirement to be a citizen of the United States to vote.

Both Hobbes and Locke had philosophies that they believed would protect the freedoms and natural rights of people, however Locke’s philosophy would be more helpful and also cater to the systems we have in place currently. Locke’s philosophy led to people having unalienable rights that cannot be taken away by any individual, including a fair government system to ensure the people of a country have a say in who they want to be elected and in charge. Overall, Locke’s philosophy would have ideas that are far more useful today than Hobbes ideas and philosophy.

Modern Day Leaders Who Following Similar Ideas to Hobbes' and Locke's Philosophies

There are a few modern day leaders that follow Locke’s philosophy as well as Hobbes philosophy. A leader who has motives similar to Hobbes would be the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un. He has been the dictator of North Korea since 2011 and he leads his country with absolute power. He believes in a power that connects all of his people, a country where there is no division because of a strict set of laws and strict consequences if anyone were to break the law. A leader who has motives similar to Locke would be Tom Perez, chairman of the democratic party of the United States. He has been fighting for people’s natural rights in order for the people of the US to have civil rights. He follows the ideas Locke had and is able to make important decisions with others who are part of the democratic party.

Impacts the English Civil War and Glorious Revolution have had on Hobbes' and Locke's Philosophies

The English Civil War and Glorious Revolution both had impacts on the philosophies of both Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. During the English Civil War, a fight among two religions occurred for control of the English government. The fight between the Puritans and Catholics resulted in Charles II being executed. After the end of absolute rule, England had no king and the people of England were forced into a military dictatorship; They were denied most of their rights. Hobbes philosophy is affected by this event. He realized conflicts of religion would destroy a government and need to be heavily controlled. He also realized a king to create law and order was necessary for the people to live with their natural rights. As Hobbes philosophy was affected by the English Civil War, Locke’s philosophy was affected by the Glorious Revolution. James II was forced to give up his throne in 1688, which led to James’ daughter Mary and her husband William III as king and queen of England. However, they had to agree that parliament would be the major body of England and not the King. Locke’s philosophy of having a type of democracy where the people have a voice occurred directly after the Glorious Revolution took place.

Philosophical Critiques

There have been many critiques written about both John Locke’s and Thomas Hobbes philosophies. Within the guidelines of Hobbes philosophy, the absolute dictators that he believed would remain in power usually got overthrown, mainly due to them becoming corrupt with power and violating their people’s rights. In other words, these kings become tyrants. I agree with all of these critiques. Having one ruler who has unlimited power will corrupt them. They will stop caring for their people and strip them of their rights. When people have too much power to govern and control, people become jealous and others develop hatred for their once beloved king. Eventually, they will be revolted against. Having a tyrant as ruler does not end in peace,but having a democracy has many challenges as well. Locke’s philosophy lacks decision making. Reaching a consensus that everyone is happy with is near impossible and when people become elected for senate, they gain more interest in making people happy to get reelected instead of making critical decisions. With this current philosophy, those who are rich gain wealth, while those who are poor lose wealth. I also agree with these critiques, how decision making becomes very difficult and corruption can still affect elections, however I agree with Locke’s philosophy more than Hobbes. Having a democracy allows the people to project their voice and overall have more opportunities.  

How did religion influence Locke and Hobbes' ideas?

The ideas of Thomas Hobbes:

• Thomas Hobbes was an Atheist 
• He only believed in things that were logical to him, things that were fact and could be explained using science
• Because he was an atheist, he wanted church to be under the control of the head government so a sovereign could rule
• He wanted the king to protect the natural rights that people had

The ideas of John Locke:

• Locke was a Christian
• He believed in natural human rights that can never be taken away by any individual or group
• The people have the choice to overthrow the king since they would be the person to elect him