Thomas Hobbes And John Hobbes - 1426 Words

Thomas Hobbes believed that men were equal because we are evenly capable of committing violence and murder. Even if one is bigger in size, another person can be quicker, or out-smart another person in order to stay alive. This idea arose from his conception that all people are selfish and no one trusts anyone else. Nevertheless, these mental or physical abilities still make the people equally weak as well. Since Hobbes believed that we all have a desire to stay alive, people had the right to anything they wanted. Hobbes believed that we are in constant fear of one another, which will result in standstill lifestyle. For Hobbes, life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. This quote exemplifies how life would be tragic if people†¦show more content†¦With all things considered, people do not have the liberty they may think they have because it is the only way everyone can cooperate in a commonwealth. For John Locke, the origin of private property was that God gave us the land and it’s goods for men to preserve it. God’s natural resources are enough to sustain the people only if it is not being abused. In order to determine what goods one can call there own private property, one must put there time and labor to it. For example, if anyone finds a piece of land and one begins to grow crops and nurture the farm, this farm will become ones property because of all the toiling one went through. Once a man starts to produce any goods, he can then declare the goods his as well. But, if a man takes another man’s goods without putting there own time and labor towards it, these goods are not their property because it violates God’s natural laws. A man can also never take more than he can use because he would be wasting goods that may be useful for someone else who is in need of it. If one is producing a lot of goods, one can profit out of it by exchanging these go ods for currency. For Locke, the sole reason for a government is to protect the well being of the people. Locke writes, â€Å"Salus Populi Suprema Lex† which illustrates that the only purpose for is government, again, is to keep the commonwealth