hoblock

    During the Enlightenment, there were many new ideas on how things should be run in society. These opinions were formed on the basis of how each individual felt the basic nature of humans would affect a new system. Two of the more noted men who had such ideas were Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.

     Hobbes felt that human nature was chaotic, and theat with no government, life would be "nasty, brutish, and short". He believed that in order to be protected from themselves, people entered into a "contract" with a monarch. The people gave up their freedom in exchange for protection, which was provided by a king.

     Locke, on the other hand, felt that human nature was basically good, and that people naturally wanted to co-operate with each other in the interest of a better society. He believed that people entered into a "contract" with a monarch not to be protected from themselves, but to have their basic rights protected. These rights were the right to life, liberty, and property, and Locke felt it was the monarch"s main job to uphold and protect them.

     The ideal government, according to Hobbes, was one which had an absolute monarch, a king that ruled until death, and had control of all power. It was his belief that the king knew what was best, even if he was considered a tyrant, therefore he was doing what was in the best interest of the people. In that way, the people had no legitimate reason to rebel and/or overthrow the monarch, no matter what the circumstances.

     Meanwhile, Locke felt that the ideal government had a monarch who was truly doing what was in the best interest of the people, and the people were aware of this. If the monarch bacame a tyrant, and the people felt he was not doing his job properly; not keeping his end of the "contract", then they had the right to rebel. In general, Locke believed that the monarch should rule only as long as he had the consent of the people.

     It is evident that while Hobbes and Locke disagreed on many things, such as the right to rebel, it is also evident that they were able to agree on some of the small things, like the idea of a "contract" between the people and the monarch. Although their philosophies conflicted for the most part, both were leaps forward in the way of thinking during the Enlightenment. These two men influenced the thought of many people in the years to come.