Differences Between the Arguements of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in Leviathan and Second Treatise of Government

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When initially looking at the arguments of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in Leviathan and Second Treatise of Government, they seem to agree on many things. Both philosophers believe that human reasoning is based on appetites and aversions, that humans have a fundamental right to self-preservation, and, above all, that a strong central government is the way to remedy the problems with the state of nature. However, after looking closely, many important differences become apparent. All differences between the arguments of Hobbes and Locke, in regards to human nature and the formation of a social contract, stem from two crucial points: the authors’ value of individualism and sociality, both in the state of nature and in civil society, and whether the suggested governmental system’s power is based on fear or trust.
According to Thomas Hobbes, the state of nature is a brutal one. Every person is rigidly individualized, with a personal idea of what is right and what is wrong. Humans are innately asocial, and because of this, the state of nature is coincident with the state of war (Hobbes, 1968: 185). Although this “state of war” does not necessarily mean direct fighting, but rather the disposition towards violence, the lack of security is enough to keep people in constant fear of death (186). This constant fear of violation is exhausting, and so people, as stated in Hobbes’ fundamental law of nature, seek a more peaceful way of life (190). Locke, however, completely disagrees with Hobbes’ pessimistic perspective of the state of nature. He states that humans are inherently social creatures, and that the state of nature is one of community and cooperation (Locke, 1980: 13). This could not be farther from Hobbes’ view, which is why the soc...

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...nd, advocated for a representative democracy. This is reasonable as well, because the cooperative, social nature he attributed to human beings made it unnecessary to instill fear, and more effective to simply work together. It was necessary for Locke to find a way to organize this cooperation, which he did by entrusting executive power to a governing assembly. Since the aim of Locke’s government was to protect the property of its constituents, the best way to do this was to ensure that justice was brought through an indifferent, selfless and consistent system. Hobbes’ sovereign’s goal was to provide peace and security to its subjects, and Locke’s government was intended to do the same. Therefore, although it seems as though Hobbes’ and Locke’s arguments may be completely irreconcilable, the differences can all be attributed to the ways they interpreted human nature.

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