John Locke, Marx, How They Relate.

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Philosophy 106- Final Submitted by: Baljit Singh Prof. Morgan Horowitz In terms of government Locke believed in a state of nature, where everyone has the same right and no one has more power over another. Also the government that is in charge has to be run with the consent of the people. Without it the people had a right to overthrow if the government did not insert the people into their agenda. This government was supposed to offer its citizens natural rights including those of life, liberty, and the right to own property. Locke was proclaiming that government had to be fair in order to be sustainable. If not it would fail in one way or another. Locke addresses the state of nature in order to define political power. Marx talks a lot about a capitalist’s government. And how that in a capitalist economy the government is completely under the control of the capitalist class and that the government does not care about the conditions of the poor. He wants to remove the capitalist government and introduce a communist government where the more privileged were overrun by the proletariat. This would result in everyone becoming classless. Moreover, Karl Marx believed in a Strong Socialist Government (Communism). Where everyone was equal and there was a classless society (which means there are no rich, poor, or middle classes). Everyone would have the same education, same sized land, same sized salaries, same amount of food, and same laws for everyone. The government should only be there to keep this classless society running and help distribute food and resources to every citizen. Locke and Marx have many similarities on how they think government should be run. Equality among everyone is similar in that they wish for fairness to be at the heart of government but differ on how they believe in their government. In terms of property Locke and Marx have different views of
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