Question

What ideas did Thomas Hobbes and John Locke develop about the nature of government

Answer 1

Hobbes and Locke developed the theory of government as a "social contract" between the people who are governed and the government that is established.

Explanation:

• Thomas Hobbes published a famous work called Leviathan in 1651.  The title "Leviathan" comes from a biblical word for a great and mighty beast. Hobbes believed government is formed by people for the sake of their personal security and stability in society.  In Hobbes view, once the people put a king (or other leader in power), then that leader needs to have supreme power (like a great and mighty beast).    Hobbes' view of the natural state of human beings without a government held that people are too divided and too volatile as individuals -- everyone looking out for his own interests.  So for security and stability, authority and the power of the law needs to be in the hands of a powerful ruler like a king or queen.  And so people willingly enter a "social contract" in which they live under a government that provides stability and security for society.

• John Locke published his Two Treatises on Civil Government in 1690, following the mostly peaceful transition of government power that was the Glorious Revolution in England.  Locke believed people are born as blank slates--with no preexisting knowledge or moral leanings. Experience then guides them to the knowledge and the best form of life, which includes choosing to form governments to make life and society better.  This was his application of the "social contract" theory.