John Locke

I consider John Locke to my leading political philosopher, at least the most preferable of all the other political philosophers we could choose from, for various reasons, all of which will be discussed later. I will begin with a brief biography of John Locke. John Locke was born in Wrington, Somerset in 1632. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, where he obtained his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in philosophy. He also obtained a degree in medicine and later began a career as a physician in 1667 as a personal physician to Lord Shaftesbury, a man who would greatly influence Locke’s political thinking. It was during his time with Shaftesbury, and later, that Lock wrote some of his greatest works. He eventually died in Essex in 1704.

John Locke lived during the Enlightenment, the age of reason that emphasized the intrinsic values of man while deemphasizing religious thought and superstition. It was during this time period that democracy was heavily developed by political theorists, including John Locke, though democracy had existed long before. It was also during this time that the American and French revolutions took place as well as when America was founded. Although during John Locke’s time, democracy was still in its early stages, he helped shape many of today’s democratic and liberal values, even influencing the American constitution and Declaration of Independence.

John Locke believed that human beings are free and endowed with natural rights, such as life, liberty, and property. This is very much in line with some of my libertarian beliefs, since I too believe strongly in human rights and other legal rights that all human beings should be entitled to. John Lock was also a contractarian and was heavily influenced by the social contract theory of Hobbes and Rousseau. When it comes to social contract, I agree with it to a certain extent. I don’t agree with the Hobbes type of social contract, but I do agree that members of a society have to give up certain rights in order to be protected by the government. For instance, I cannot legally steal things, giving away some of my rights, but that law also protects me from theft. I seem to agree with Locke’s social contract, where members of a society give away some of their rights for protection and a better life, but the government ultimately exists as a result of the consent of the people. Thus, if the government unjustly treats its citizens, then a revolution is justified.

John Lock also argued for some form of separation between church and state as well as a balance of powers. This keeps the government in check and minimizes corruption. Both of these positions, I agree with. Ultimately, he is my leading political philosopher since I agree with him more than any of the other philosophers on the list and I do admire him greatly. I can’t say that I agree with every single one of his political positions, but I appreciate his contributions to social liberalism and democracy.