Locke and Machiavelli- Key Points to
Remember
Locke
- First major liberal
thinker.
- Writing after
English Civil War and Glorious Revolution
- Great influence on
what we now know as western liberal democracy.
- His ideas helped to
shape the American constitution.
- Argued against
ideas of Hobbes
- Rejected concept of
“Divine Right of Kings”.
- Believed that man
was essentially a social animal and that the advent of society didn’t come
out of necessity, but out of a mutual desire for community.
- Thought that man
was born with “natural rights” of life, liberty & property.
- Property being the
most important right as those who owned property would pay taxes and that
in return for this, then government would ensure that their right to
property wasn’t take away from them.
- Only property
owners should be able to vote.
- Put forward the
idea of the Social Contract- man should enter into a contract with the
state.
- By surrendering
some of his rights, government would ensure his natural rights.
- If government
failed to keep their side of the bargain, then man had the duty to
withdraw his support and government should be therefore replaced.
- Although liberal,
believed in death sentence if man broke his side of the bargain with the
state.
- Thought that man
had the duty to defend his country when needed- e.g. when the state is
attacked.
- Locke was in favour
of “government by consent”.
- Great work “Two
Treatises of Government “.
- Government would
have authority and non-interventionist as much as possible- the state is
only called upon when needed.
Machiavelli
- The phrase
“Machiavellian” has come to cunning and manipulative.
- Lived before Italy
was a republic and was a series of city-states that were constantly at
war.
- Influenced by
Ancient Romans/Greeks
- We are unsure
whether his major work “The Prince” was meant to be a satire of serious.
- But, we do know
that Machiavelli has influenced politics, especially the idea of
propaganda, e.g. Mussolini.
- Believed in
“realpolitik”.
- Thought that the
leader, “The Prince” should be seen to have “more vices than virtues”.
- People want a
strong leader- think of political leaders from the twentieth century like
Maggie Thatcher and Winston Churchill.
- The leader should
always get what he wants by making people think that he is acting in their
interests.
- Idea of “stinginess”.
- Leader should
obtain power by any means necessary and should retain that power at all
costs.
- If seen not to be
holding onto power, then power should be removed and there should be a new
Prince.
- Machiavelli thought
that the prince should be feared but never hated, as his citizens would
turn against him.
- Thought that the
army should be rewarded above any other members of society, as you need to
ensure their loyalty to stay in power.