He says that men are “ungrateful, fickle, deceptive and deceiving, avoiders of danger, and eager to gain. As long as you serve their interests, they are devoted to you” . According to Machiavelli’s theory on human nature, it is mans pure self-interest that allows them to be easily controlled, by coercing them through manipulative and sometime violent means. He states that attempting to rule over people by honourable means would only lead to a ruler’s downfall, as an honourable ruler is always surrounded by “unscrupulous men” . Machiavelli states that “a
Locke stands firm in the belief that people can incite a revolution against their government when it begins to work against what is in the best interest of the populace (Locke, p. 112). He places limits on these actions - such as what a conqueror is entitled to and what would justify as tyrannical behavior - but still justifies the right to instigate a shift political power. On the other hand, Hobbes finds private discourse against one’s sovereign to a disease (p. 197). He finds contempt in the populace under the sovereign, noting that most of were incapable of understanding the inner mechanisms powering the sovereign (p. 207). By deeming the collective population incompetent and likening their anti-governmental chatter to a plague, it is not a reach to assume Hobbes would not prescribe a right to revolution.
Democracy means ‘power voted by the people for the people’ and see’s society as a whole, more important than the individual. In contrast, liberalism core principle lies with the individual. So for liberals to adopt democracy it is also adopting collectivist views of the majority, which is a fear towards liberalism and their beliefs of the single entity of the individual. A minority of liberals - none in the modern period- reject democracy, however, no liberals accept democracy uncritically. Plato and Aristotle believed that a fear did, run though liberals as they viewed democracy as a system of rule by the masses, thus an implication of individualism; seeing society as not as single individual entities but rather a collection of individual groups, possessing opposing interest.
Maximillien Robespierre was a man with drastic reformatory aspirations. He considered the general will to be a necessity and resorted to the Terror because he wished to create a temporary dictatorship in order to save the Republic. He praised the revolution and disguised the gruesomeness of his actions and intentions by reasoning that the Terror was virtuous since it defended the Republic. The Jacobins were liberal radicalists who wished for a central government, control over the economy, and universal suffrage. With the replacement of the Girondins faction in 1793, the Jacobins had complete control of the National Convention, and France as a nation.
Abuse of Power/ Moral Code of War Quotes “Anyone entrusted with power will abuse it if not also animated with the love of truth and virtue, no matter whether he be a prince, or one of the people.” -Jean de La Fontaine “Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also the abuse of power.” -James Madison “Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you.” -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. “All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers” -Francois Fenelon “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” -Abraham Lincoln “Calculated risks of abuse are taken in order to preserve higher values.” -Warren E. Berger “Children are often silent victims of abuse.” -Rick Larson “Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.” -Elie Wiesel “Democracy is an abuse of statistics.” -Jorge Luis Borges “Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged by humility.” -Robin Morgan “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” -Jean de La Fontaine “If we do not end war- war will end us. Everybody says that, millions of people believe it, and nobody does anything.” ~H.G. Wells “You can’t say civilization does not advance… in every war they kill you in a new way.” -Will Rogers “Power corrupts.
He believes that it was the role of the government that would keep these instincts in line. If these instincts were not controlled it would lead to war. Hobbes views were shaped by his life experiences during the English Civil War. He believed people were evil and selfish. Hobbes idea that “people orbiting their ruler” leads me to the idea of socialism/communism (Sayre, 2012).
Hume vs. The Social Contract Theory Hume’s main claims in “Of the Original Contract”: i) The idea that one’s duty of allegiance to one’s government stems from one’s having consented to it is false, because its consequences are absurd. If it were correct, then few would have any such duty, because few ever give genuine and voluntary consent to their governments. ii) The duty of allegiance to one’s government derives from utility, not agreement, consent, or promise. The reason why one has a duty to obey the government (when one does) is that such obedience maximizes society’s total utility.
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, Edmund, the scheming son of Gloucester, is a lucid prototype of Niccolo Machiavelli’s philosophy. He exhibits characteristics of an aspiring Machiavellian prince. Edmund has a need for control and equality – that is, when ‘equality’ works to his favour. His moral principals stand as no obstacle to the sordid and inhumane actions he is willing to carry out in his pursuit of the throne and of power. This can be seen more specifically in Edmund’s scheming to overthrow the legitimate son of Gloucester, Edgar.
For Hobbes, ethics is only something that comes with politics, and politics is rooted in selfishness and the desire for self-preservation. Hobbes viewed human nature as shown in the state of nature was that men have a natural tendency to be selfish and will hurt anyone to get what they want. That is why the social contract is formed, because of this continuous fear of death, that at any moment you could be killed. Hobbes and Orwell contrast each other. Orwell said humans will perpetually be at war because of a strong, centralised authority as in 'big brother is watching you'.
George Washington expressed a good point when he said “This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its roots in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed.” Washington is saying that as a human being in any government or in any argument, there are going to be several different good ideas, however there not all going to work. He believed that the division of the American people and government would cause foreign influence and corruption.