Locke_Vs_Hobbes

Locke Vs Hobbes John Locke, and Thomas Hobbes, had very different opinions on people and on politics. John Locke believed that men were born free, are generally peaceful beings, and that they were capable of collaborative decision-making to ensure upholding their natural rights to life, liberty, and especially property. Thomas Hobbes on the other hand believed that men were selfish, were often at war with each other, and that they needed an absolute sovereign to uphold their natural rights, especially their right to life. Their philosophies serve as useful tools to analyzing current debates over such issues as smoking, and gun control. This essay will use the theories of Hobbes and Locke to explore the different sides of these two specific issues and will serve as a useful exercise in exploring the different thinking of these two philosophers. Locke believed that people had natural rights and that they were capable of deciding what was best themselves. Since he thought that men were capable of making responsible choices, one could conclude that on the topic of smoking, Locke would say that smoking was a personal choice. However, he would probably also add that smoking should only take place in private since he believed that people locke, hobbes, society, smoking, people, believed, decide, sovereign, should, property, make, issue, firearm, since, say, rights, right, leave, gun, control, because, unlike, two, thomas, seen, probably, own, natural, men, man, life, issues, government, different, choices, choice