Question

Explain the key differences in the views of Hobbes and Locke on the social contract.

Answer 1

Hobbes' theory of the social contract was based upon the idea that people have rights that should be defended. In order to have a stable and strong country which is safe and secure, people should voluntarily reject some of their rights in order to make the country safe for everyone. He believed that the people ruling should be strong monarchs who are capable of protecting the country from others who would harm it.

Locke believed that there are natural rights which are unalienable and self-evident. He believed that the government should be a democratic one where the consent of the governed is necessary and that there shouldn't just be one monarch. He also believed that a country has no rights to ever forbid people from having their rights and that if something like that happens people should change the government.