Written Report

Our Teams Understanding of Political Philosophy
The ideas of Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Socrates, and Plato were and still are centers of controversy for people trying to understand “utopian” societies and whether man is good or bad. Our theory, which is built off of root ideas from these philosophers, is that man is not created good, but with the will and need to do good. This good can be for themselves, the people around them, animals, just about anything; it’s how they go about trying to do good that makes the difference. Stealing is wrong, right? What if a man is stealing diapers for his newborn because he can’t afford them? Some would say that it’s wrong that he would do that, but others would argue that since it was for the right reasons and not meant maliciously, that it was the right thing to do because they didn’t have any other options.
Plato, Socrates, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Hobbes, and Locke all had very firm beliefs about politics and what the role of the people was. Some of their ideas differed greatly from others, and some of their ideas are used in today’s government. Socrates, the oldest of these six philosophers, lived in Athens, Greece around 420 B.C. and had a wife (Xanthippe) and three sons (Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus). Socrates taught by asking questions such as “what is good?” and “what is evil?” to people that he met in the streets. He also discussed his four main beliefs which are commonly known today as the Socratic paradoxes. They are;
- No one desires evil
- No one errs or does wrong willingly/knowingly
- All virtue is knowledge
- Virtue is sufficient for happiness
Socrates thought that there was no one wiser than him, simply because he was the only one who recognized his ignorance. Many of Athens prominent figures were viewed as wise and knowledgeable, but they didn’t think they were ignorant, which is exactly why Socrates thought they weren’t wise or knowledgeable. Unfortunate, by proclaiming this idea, he made enemies with many of the cities leaders. Eventually, he was put on trial for causing discontent among the populace and corrupting the minds of Athens youth. He was tried by the jury in 399 B.C. and sentenced to death by drinking poison hemlock. Socrates followers bribed the guards and offered Socrates a chance to escape, but he declined because he figured that if he escaped it would indicate his fear of death, which he thought that a philosopher shouldn’t have. Socrates didn’t agree with Athens democratic government. He criticized that fact that selfish Athenians would gain power and wealth by tricking and flattering the populace.
One of Socrates students was Plate, who shared some of Socrates ideas about how Athenian government was corrupt. Plato was born in Athens about 427 B.C. and was born into a wealthy family. When he was about 20, he because a student of Socrates. After Socrates death, Plato decided that democracy was a corrupt and unjust. He left Athens and traveled for about 10 years before returning to Athens and forming a school of philosophy. Plato’s objective in creating his school (known as the Academy) was to educate future leaders for Athens. He taught his students to use reason and wisdom when they ruled. Plato wrote a very important piece of literature, called The Republic. It discusses two questions: what is justice and why should and individual act justly? Plato tried to emulate many of Socrates teaching techniques, and taught many students in political philosophy at the Academy.
Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau were all European philosophers who argued over how a country should govern themselves.
Thomas Hobbes was born in England in 1588. Later on in life, he wrote a book called the Leviathan that discussed how the king should have undisputed power over his subjects. Also, Hobbes believed that everyone was born equal and that they were all free to do what they needed to so that they could survive. However, everyone would be fighting constantly, so they needed the guidance of a ruler. The populace should give their rights up to the ruler and had no right to try and take them back after giving them up. Also, the king should have power over every aspect of government, including the church.
After Hobbes came Locke. John Locke was born in 1632 and became a professor at Oxford University. He agreed with the protestant parliament and disagreed with King James the second during the Glorious Revolution of 1685. When the parliament took over, they reduced the power of the king and made themselves the main authority of English government. Locke also wrote a book called Two Treatises of Government. He shared a lot of Hobbes ideas about human nature and that they needed guidance from a ruler. However, Locke thought that people had certain rights that shouldn’t be taken away from them, even by a king or other ruler. If these rights were violated, the people should have the right to revolt against the current ruler and choose a new one. Locke also thought that property was very important. People can do what they want with their own property, but they shouldn’t interfere with others. This included government according to Locke. In his point of view, the government was there to protect the people’s property, not take it and use it for their own gain. The government itself should be made up of a parliament with representatives. Locke only wanted men of property and business to be representatives. John Locke died in 1704. Later, Thomas Jefferson used some of these same ideas when he was writing the Declaration of Independence.
Charles Montesquieu was born in 1689 in France when King Louis XIV was ruling. His family was a noble and wealthy family that was involved in law. Montesquieu traveled a lot later in life and observed the English parliament. Montesquieu’s book, The Spirit of Laws, was written in 1748 and was very different from Hobbes’ and Locke’s books. He thought that people were naturally fearful, and therefore would avoid violence and war. It is only when people are involved in a society that they lose their fear and become violent. War eventually led to laws and government. In Montesquieu’s opinion, the government was there to maintain law, order, liberty, and the property of an individual. He didn’t like having an absolute monarchy and thought that creating a parliament would be a much better way to govern. The parliament would have three equal branches that would keep each other in check so that one of them wouldn’t become too powerful. The U.S. Constitution used many of Montesquieu’s ideas as its foundation.
By the early 1700’s, all adult male citizens could vote in Switzerland for a representative for the government. Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in 1712 and traveled in France and Italy later in life. Rousseau later wrote an essay in 1751, stating that man was naturally innocent and good, and that he was corrupted by society. Many people in France would gather to discuss his ideas, and he became very popular. Rousseau also believed that any social contract between the rich and the poor was a fraud, and that the people had been tricked by the rich. No one should have to give up their rights to a ruler. If they did, it should be to the people, not to a ruler. The people should have the right to make their own laws for the public good by general consensus. Rousseau disagreed with the idea of representatives. He believed in a direct democracy, where everyone had the right to have a say in the government.
Our society has decided not to be “perfect” but to be better. In order for there to be a perfect society there would need to be no people. We’re trying to make things so that when this society grows, all the towns will be able to support themselves because they won’t have any choice (motor vehicles are prohibited). People will be confined to traveling by bicycle and foot, hence creating a strong local economy and a close community. The closer the community, the safer things are because you tend to grow alliances rather than burn bridges when you can’t just leave due to the lack of transportation. A military won’t exist because of the high standards we have set for a leader of the country. The “president” or leader will need to be over the age of 35, have a degree in political philosophy, social studies and socioeconomics and at least 5 successful years ruling over a smaller area. We don’t want to try to be perfect because, as long as you have people, you are going to have conflicting ideas between the people and the government. The only way to have a utopia is to have robots as the citizens. Our goal is simply to instill a conscience and a sense of belonging to the community in our citizens because as Julius Caesar proved, happy people are easier to control than upset, sad or resentful people.