John Locke vs. Thomas Hobbes
There were two brilliant men with similar occupations, but very different opinions about government. The first philosophers name was Thomas Hobbes and he wrote the social contract. His social contract talked about giving the government total power. Whereas the other philosopher called John Locke had a different view on things. He disagreed and stated just the opposite. Locke is a little more practical with his philosophy. Hobbes believed in a monarchy over the people for more control in the city. He thought that a ruler should have total power over the people because he thought that they needed more control in the city. Hobbes didn’t think that people were capable to govern themselves as if they didn’t know how. Lock on the other hand thought differently. He believed in the people not the government. John Locke thought that people should be able to govern their own affairs without being looked down on by the government. That difference in opinion is just one out of a whole list of their views on the government. There once was a legend of a great sea monster called the leviathan. In Thomas Hobbes’s eyes that was a major opportunity. He said that a great government can result from having awesome power over the leviathan and can be a new punishment for the people. So in Hobbes’s mind control over the leviathan equaled total power and the best government. John Locke on the other hand had another idea at hand. He thought that it would be best to jus leave the people alone in their mistakes. He thought that if someone makes a mistake that instead of being tried and killed for their actions, people should be able to learn from their experience and improve. One more major difference is the view on a monarchy. Hobbes that one man should rule over all. He thought it would be best to have one man in total control of everything that people do. He wanted to make sure that the people have no say really in anything but, Locke didn’t like that idea of total power given to