Political Theory of Locke and Rousseau - Essay Example

? Opportunity Exercise Shaunte Bowman Western Civilization II P.F. Navage 4/9 Political Theory of Locke and Rousseau Political Theory of Locke Locke is a philosopher, who was most recognized for his political theory and unparallel thinking on political and social arena .His political theory was that, human in his absolute form is peaceful and happy, and has the attribute of tolerance and reasoning in him. He claimed that every individual existing in this universe, has the right to be here and none had the right to harm one another. Hence, Locke is known as the “Father of liberalism” The contemporary concepts like “identity” and “self” was formulated with reference to Locke’s “theory of mind”. He was “liberalism” advocating thinker and he considered authoritarianism against his principles. Locke was a British philosopher who also researched on medical field. Locke believed in freedom, and believed that none had the right to rule anyone instead, people should perform activities according to their reasoning. According to (Kemerling) “John Locke’s intellectual curiosity and social activism also led him to consider issues of general public concern in the lively political climate of seventeenth-century England” In terms of Locke, the formation of government can be connected to the human’s need to preserve and safeguard their property. Normally in the beginning, nature had no dominion on people, but it bestowed equal right to all on life and on nature’s resources. Locke claimed that, human sacrificed a portion of their freedom to safeguard their right to property. Locke studied government on three basis; reason for Government, its creation and limitation. According to Locke, the government through the ‘rule of law’ governs and protects people and their property. Political Theory of Rousseau Rousseau was a philosopher from Geneva, who portrayed his talent in composing and writing during 18th century. He has contributed genuinely to political philosophy and moral psychological field. He held a negative perspective on philosophy, and philosophical thinkers of his time and past. He advocated common men to act upon compassion rather than natural impulses .He was a thinker who emphasized natural qualities of human like morality, love, compassion and virtue. According to Rousseau, the development in the field of science and arts led to the destruction of human virtue and morality. This is one statement which led many thinkers to contemplate on in the future theoretical world. This thinking of Rousseau, also bestowed upon him fame and recognition. Rousseau claim is that human beings by nature are virtuous but got corrupted during many historical events. He became a prominent figure in history of philosophy due to his unique contribution emphasizing on natural state of human .According to Rousseau, human beings are good by nature, but the social conventions have corrupted them along the history. In his article (Younkins) writes that “According to Rousseau, in the state of nature, people tended to be isolated, war was absent, and their desires were minimal and circumscribed” Rousseau reestablishes the necessity of a governed body to monitor the social security and needs of human beings. According to him state would have been “class state” with no rights to poor and weak in the absence of Government. The Social Contract” one of his controversial work on political philosophy has raised many debates among his counterparts Age of Enlightenment and Locke The Age of enlightenment is a movement in 18th century where all the intellect raised awareness among societies to reform and adapts oneself to natural and liberal state. In the age of enlightenment, the social and political scenario of central European societies was pathetic, as the power was in the hands of rich and elite. When it comes to Locke and Rousseau, both had prominent role to play in reforming the society. One of the philosophers Locke can be considered as pioneer of “Age of enlightenment” and his book called “Human Understanding” aggravated his political views. After reading his philosophical work, people realized their human right and authority to demand equal rights. This awareness among people was initiated by Locke’s theory on politics, and his idea of “Liberalism”. During 18th century, the weak class in the society was suffering in the hands of wealthy class, and, ides of Locke awakened them to act through enlightenment movement. It is during this era; Sir Isaac Newton propagated his law of gravity which added to the credibility of naturalism based theory of Locke. In her article (Nay)writes that “John Locke believed that all people have natural rights from birth such as life liberty and property. In his article called Two Treaties of Government, Locke states the following. These same ideas are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence”. Locke is the reason for the Age of enlightenment, and, reason for its advancement to Europe. Age of Enlightenment and Rousseau The theories of Rousseau had a significant role to play in enhancing the “Age of enlightenment”. Like Locke, Rousseau believed and put forward the natural rights of human beings and liberty as ideal principles of society. During, the age of enlightenment, Rousseau along with the other thinkers and philosophers questioned the dominating authority of church and state alike. Rousseau is a thinker, who did not believe in an authority, who need better quality of life than other. According to him, all has the right to live on the earth with equal power and freedom. However the government’s role comes in to play to preserve the rights of the property. When these messages were passed on to the society, people got enraged and a revolution broke out. Thinkers like Rousseau have had a majestic role to play during the age of enlightenment. Rousseau’s main statement is that human are basically good by nature but the historical and social conventions corrupt them in the long run. This is where the weak and the less able got awakened and a powerful enlightenment movement started. The age of enlightenment put forward the rationality and reasoning as a major force in human -kind, as nature is not self – ordering. This rational based “age of enlightenment “spread to the West from France and ignite awareness among the Americans. This in later times, led to the independence of America. Finally we could analyze that Locke being an advocate of “liberalism” and Rousseau being the pioneer of the “Age of Enlightenment” has contributed invaluably for the social upgrading of human rights and freedom in West So it can be well said that Locke and Rousseau are the cornerstone in political theory and age of enlightenment movement. Work Cited Kemerling, Garth. "Locke: Social Order." Philosophy Pages. Creative Common Attribution, 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. . Nay, Annette. "Could the American Revolution Have Happened Without the Age of Enlightenment?." Three Peaks. N.p., 2001. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. . Younkins, Edward W. "Capitalism & Commerce." quebecoislibre. N.p., July 2005. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. . Read More