The Age of Enlightenment
The Philosophes
Niccolo Machiavelli
In his book The Prince Machiavelli argues that the best type of government is one that…………………..
Is the most ruthless, deceitful and conniving
The Prince was a blueprint for dictatorship
Dictatorship – a type of government that governs without the consent of the governed
Dictators do this by keeping their subjects scared, hungry, poor, and uneducated
Conservative – promotes traditional institutions and gradual and slow change within society
Liberal – promotes change in society and a move away from traditions
Moderate – promotes a position that is in between the liberal and conservative positions
Radical – promotes a position that is outside of the positions of liberal and conservative
L CMR R
Starting PointWants to move away from starting point
Wants to go back to a previous starting point
Thomas Hobbes
In his book Leviathan Hobbes explains the social contract theory which he describes as…………………..
Humans unite into political societies by a process of mutual consent in which they agree to abide by the laws in return for protection from violence
Nature is chaos because humans
are self interested beings
So humans enter into civil society by “signing “ a social contract
Humans give up their rights in
return for security
Abuse of authority is the price to
pay for safety
The best type of
government is absolute
monarchy
ConservativeLiberal
John Locke
In his book The Second Treatises of Government Locke argued that when humans are born they are a……………….
It's your duty
Tabula Rasa
Or Blank slate, that we have no innate knowledge, rather we go through life acquiring knowledge through our senses and perceptions, therefore if all humans are blank slates then we are all…….
Locke is the first to philosopher to state that “all men are created equal”, it was an extremely radical idea for it’s time
Because we are born as “blank slates” the we are individuals that we have created ourselves. We own our bodies, our minds and the time
that we spend on this Earth
Because of this we are born with three rights, life, liberty and estate. Government did not give us these rights, nature gave us these rights. Humans created government in order to protect these rights.
Locke goes on to say that if the government does not protect these rights, it is the duty of the people to overthrow the government and create one that will
protect those rights
Nature’s creator gives all humans
three natural rights at birth, life, liberty and
estate
Because of this all men are
created equal
Humans create government to protect those
rights
If that government
doesn’t protect those rights it is the
duty of the people to
overthrow it
The best type of government is a
constitutional democratic
republic
Constitution
Legal Code
Invaders Invaders
Voltaire
Voltaire spent most of his life in and out of jail because of his religion and things that he said so he wrote that best type of government is one that gives it’s people the………………….
Freedom of Religion And
Freedom of Speech
Montesquieu
Montesquieu argued that the best type of government is one that………………..
Has separate branches of government, one that makes the law, one that
enforces the law and one that judges those who have been accused of
breaking the law. To ensure that the government does not become corrupt it should be chosen by the people and the government should educate the
people to ensure they choose good and honest leaders. The people also need
to be educated so they are able to realize when the government is taking
advantage of them
G
PeopleEducationGood Leaders
Humans acquire property in order to maximize pleasure, so a government should leave people free to acquire property
David Hume
Property
Adam Smith
Smith spent fifteen years traveling around Europe studying the economies of each country. In his book The Wealth of Nations Smith argued that the best type of government is one that………………………
The government that governs least governs the best
Free Market Capitalism(Laissez Faire Capitalism)
an economic system in which prices and wages are determined by
unrestricted competition between businesses, without government
interference.
Allows people the freedom to pursue there own self interests which in turn benefits the society as a
whole. This allows for competition which brings out the best in man and allows for the “invisible hand” of
demand to decide what things society wants and what it does not want
The free market rules and will fix itself
The government should not interfere in the economy
Every single day we vote on what we want
Using……………………..
Wealth is like a pie
It is created by people and the bigger it is the more people get to eat itThe wealthy haven’t stolen their piece of the pie from the poor
They have just baked a bigger pie
The one thing the government should do is protect our property and our right to own property
-Personal ownership of property (deeds, titles, wills etc.)
- laws against harming or destroying property (vandalism, stealing)
- take very little property from us (low taxes)
- have as little interference as possible in the trade of property (regulations)
- settle disputes about property (lawsuits)
- Protect intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights)
Patent – ownership of an idea or invention and the rights to that idea
Copyright – ownership of literary, artistic or musical property
Trademark – ownership of a name, symbol or picture that represents a company
Adam Smith is considered the Father of………………
Capitalism
He didn’t invent it, he just explained it
Classical Liberalism the political ideology that advocates personal, political economic and religious freedom with a limited government under the rule of law and
Political Freedom Personal FreedomEconomic Freedom Religious Freedom
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
In his book the Social Contract Rousseau argues that……………………..
Let Us Unite
Nature is a cruel and ruthless place
Because of this humans enter into the social
contract in order to cooperate and
survive
The creation of private
property and religion ruined everything and
man had to create law
So government only protects
those with property and
it is unfair
Humans have to “throw off chains of society” to find the will of the people
The best form of government is a
small direct democracy with
no private property
Money, Religion, Work and Marriage are the chains of society, art, music and free love will unchain us
Maximillian Robespierre
Modern Liberalism
The belief that government should take an active role in ensuring social equality amongst it’s citizens by addressing economic and social issues that lead
to inequality
Equality = Harmony
Modern Conservative(Classical Liberalism)Modern Liberalism
?
?
??
?
?
?
Tyranny
Oligarchy
Democracy
Machiavelli
Authority
LibertyMore, Hobbes and Rousseau
Locke, Smith, Voltaire, Hume Montesquieu