Hobbes vs. Locke vs. Rousseau - Social Contract Theories Compared
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- Here we look at the Social Contract theories of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Social Contract theories look at what the relationship between people and their government should be. Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau base this on their views on life in the state of nature. Is it nasty, brutish, and short like Hobbes believed? Or are people born with a Tablua Rasa as envisioned by John Locke and therefore, the social contract should aim to protect people's life, liberty, and property. Rousseau, on the other hand felt that people are born good, but society corrupts - so if you strip away society, people can live collectively in harmony, as envisioned in his social contract theory.
Sources:
Noesgaard, D., Yoshida, D., Colless, R., Phui, L., & Fielding, J. (2010). Understandings of ideologies. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Image sources:
March of Peace, By Dhārmikatva - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Speed Limit, Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash
Library, Photo by j zamora on Unsplash
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As you can probably see, the views of all three philosophers are seen in the different ideologies we have around the world. Which philosopher's view of the social contract best reflects what we see in the world?
I see Locke and Hobbes, in liberal and iliberal democracies. But when looking at Saudi Arabia, i can't even see any traces of social contract. KSA was formed in 1932 by persecution of ex-ottoman allies. Ottomans may have had some notion of social contract, the young turks established a republic, not so liberal but far from the absolut monarchy of KSA, which seems very opposed to contractarianism. My curiosity is about Rousseau, is his philosophy some how related to anarchism?
Interesting question! I think there's a lot of debate around the connections between anarchism and Rousseau. I think the biggest way that anarchism would align with Rousseau would be in the belief that society leads to corruption, and anarchists would likely agree with Rousseau's idea of 'man is born free, but is everywhere in chains.' Where they diverge, however, is that at the end of the day, Rousseau was a social contract theorist and so believed that government was necessary. In his case, a more communal, highly participatory, government - something anarchists would disagree with.
@@madoldmanyelling6420 It seems to me his philosophy to surrender themselves to the general will, is related to oppression which leads to anarchy. The General will of who? We need laws to keep people in check, but Rousseau should have never thought that people would not see their freedom riding away, and not stand up and protest or revolt.
This 7 minute video was way more helpful than the 10 pages in my textbook about the same topic. Subbed, thanks for helping me get through my POL 101 course, hahah.
Haha, I'm so glad it helped! :)
which book do you read this stuff
please help me out im kinda new here
I couldn't have said this better myself!
My book is elements of moral philosophy but I think it just mentions Hobbes@@SheilaCheruto-ix5yr
I’m shocked that you don’t have 50k+ subscribers. Exceptionally useful topics, eloquent delivery. Wishing you all the best !
Thank you so much! Working on it, one sub at a time. 😁 I'm glad you found my video helpful!
He does now 😉
If he be making living out of other's ignorance, there would have been millions of subscribers. Good stuff generally remains underrated
Thank you for not including your own personal opinions in this video. I have not used others in my homeschool because they throw in their personal views. I truly appreciate that you only presented the theories of these individuals and then let the student critically think about them. Well done.
Thank you, I really appreciate the comment! It's something I try to go for with all of my videos. I always try to finish off in a way that'll make those watching have to think critically about the topic. All the best!
Most underrated channel on UA-cam. I found your videos easy to understand, effective texts, simple, straightforward, and you seem very enthusiastic. Subbed!
Wow, thank you for that! I'm glad you enjoyed! 😊
You look like Tom holland but 10 yrs older btw nc vid
Haha, only like 10 years older, but it's cool. 😎😅 Glad you found it helpful!
True 😂
I'm studying law. And one of the classes i take is General Public Law. Social Contract is one of the subjects of it. This was a really helpful summary on the topic actually. I would like to thank you. I will take the exam next week. Hopefully i'll pass. I'll try to update if possible. 🤗
@ihax.inc I passed 🙂
I'm glad you did well on your exam! :)
Solid video my guy! Tried to find info on the social contract and political ideologies. Came into your video thinking I wouldn't like it but it was very well presented and informative. Keep it up.
Hey thanks! I appreciate it. I'm glad you found my video helpful. Social Contract theory can be tricky to grasp, so I'm glad I was able to communicate it clearly. All the best!😃
Thank you so much for this video. I've always had difficulties understanding the Jean-Jacques Rousseau's part on the social contract theory, but with this video, I understand better. I wish I found this video 3 years ago🙂
Glad it was helpful!
Very well explained. Simple, but without missing the core. Also made us to reflect upon the current political situations happening in the world. 👏👏
Liked and subscribed☺️
Thank you so much for the comment! What you said was exactly what I aim for in my videos, so thank you! 😁
You make it so clear in these short 6mins. Thank you
Thanks, I appreciate the comment!
Subscribed and liked! I really hope your channel grows, your points and explanation are really well put. Bravo!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked my video and thanks for the sub!
Love this channel! More details then crash course and still so interesting and engaging!
Kalika, thank you so much for such a wonderful comment! :) I really appreciate it! People like you enjoying my videos is such a big reason I love making them! 🙂
Thank you! This video was incredibly clear and well organized. Really helped me study for my midterm.
Glad it was helpful! I hope your midterm went well! :)
Thank you for making this video a few years ago. It's interesting and really informative. You spoke clear and understandible. I hope you continue doing these videos
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Great summary to revise before the exam!! And also really interesting. Thank you for this video :)
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for checking out my videos!
Best video when you have only 6 mins before exam ❤
Good luck!
In Rousseau's theory, is 'the general will' the will of the majority, or the right thing to do so as to bring about benefits to the community as a whole? If it is the former, how do we prevent people from putting their personal interests before the public's (and perhaps harming the community while doing so)? If it is the latter, then how is it possible for us to decide what the general will should be?
This is an excellent, insightful question! Your concerns are precisely why Rousseau's philosophy is challenging to implement on a large scale. Rousseau's ideas have been interpreted in many ways. His concept of the general will is likely more aligned with your second interpretation - that it's what's best for the community, and achieved through consensus. A very difficult task the more voices you have.
An example of Rousseau's 'general will' in action was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, drafted by the French National Assembly in the early years of the French Revolution. Article six states "The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to contribute personally, or through their representatives, to its formation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes." Here, the National Assembly was interpreting it as a way for everyone to have a voice in the political process, and leaders were to incorporate citizens' ideas in the formation of law, and law should be based on this citizen voice. This again begs the question of how do you ensure lawmakers actually follow through? As the French Revolution continued, the 'general will' was interpreted to be the success of the goals of the revolution, and any 'enemies' would end up swiftly executed. In fact, Revolutionary leaders by that time, found the Declaration of the Rights of Man too much of an obstacle and suspended it entirely.
In modern societies, some interpretations have leaned more towards the will of the majority having a specific voice on specific laws. We see this in the form of plebiscites, and in the United States, direct voting on propositions during elections.
thanks for the info! nice way to clear things up the night before an exam
Glad you found my video helpful! Good luck on your exam!
Comparison summary is good! I read the Chinese version of the Social Contract Theory and then I came here to absorb all kinds of ideas.
Thank you for your video!
This was truly an enlightened class..absolutely loved it...
Glad it helped!
I am so glad that this channel exists...
Thank you
Glad you enjoy it! I hope you found it helpful!
Amazing and detailed explanation, thank you so much for giving it out raw,this has given me answers to some of my questions 😊
Glad it was helpful! :)
This is the best explanation i've seen and it helped me so much. Thank you!
Thank you for the wonderful comment! I'm glad it helped! 😊
Just started studying diplomacy. This was superbly helpful! Love the 60-second videos as well. Keep up the good work!
Thanks! I'm glad you found it helpful.
This video was a life-saver for my sociology class. Thank you!
I'm glad you found it helpful. Best of luck in your class!
Thank you very much, i'm a french student and I was sooo confused between Rousseau and Hobbes now it's way clearer even though Rousseau is still causing some problems in my head lol
Have a exam tomorrow so thank you again!!
I'm glad this helped! Best of luck with your exam!
Very good! Thank you for this clear and succinct comparison. Very helpful. Subscribed.
I'm glad you found the video helpful! ... thanks for the kind words and thanks for the sub! :)
Excellent explanation, thank you sir. Subscribing at this very moment.
Thanks for the sub! I'm glad you found my video helpful! 😃
it's a really nice video and that information will help me a lot on my exam. I sadly couldn't find any videos in German but yours was just exactly what I was searching for!
Thank you for the comment! Best of luck with your exam! Have you tried the auto-translated captions? I hear they work pretty well. 😊
Very helpful for my Venn diagram assignment where I have to compare three philosophers from the enlightenment period, thank you!
Glad it helped!
Just finished the video and thank you I've been struggling the whole day to understand this concept. Can you do more videos on western political thought?
I'm glad you found my video useful! I'll definitely keep that in mind for future videos!
Solid video mate, awesome explaining and your voice is soothing
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Very great presentation with no judgment or today's politically correct spin.
Just a discussion of the ideas. Very very appreciated.
Thank you so much for the feedback! That's what I try to go for with all of my videos.
You are the best.
Keep sharing and keep growing ✨loved the content and your impressive methodology.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you found it helpful. :)
Amazing! You just saved my life after getting behind in my readings due to a stressful week. My philosophy professor will be pleased with my assignment 😄 thank you.
Thanks! I hope your class went well!
the videos you make let me understand better than my social teacher! so thankful
Glad they're helping!
I love your way discussing the matter, its easy to comprehend and brief.
Glad you found it helpful!
Great video which helped me a lot with my studying!! Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you found it helpful! 😃
Thank you for an excellent video. I homeschool and have used this in our history curriculum. Extremely helpful.
I'm glad you found it helpful!
I loved this video, gracias, 😊your summary was very simple and straightforward yet profound.
Thanks!
that comment on the general will by rousseau was really good. thanks for everything and if i may suggest, can you please do greek philosophers?
Thanks! Political philosophy is really interesting stuff. Greek philosophy is a bit out of my area of knowledge at this point, but don't be surprised to see it at some point! Thanks for watching!
This was very informative and direct!
Awesome video saved me soo much time
Glad it was helpful!
Elaboration is extremely good . APPRECIATED
Glad you found it helpful! :)
nicely summarised.. thanks man!!
Glad it helped!
You are so good.Loved the way you explained the whole concept.
Glad you found it helpful!
this is pretty late but this just saved me for my presentation due tmw on this exact topic. Thank you so much.
Glad it was helpful!
Lovely and very helpful video! Thanks!
You're very welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful! 😊
Extremely interesting and very Weill introduced. Thank you for this
Glad it was helpful!
Dude this was so helpful, got a paper due in 2 tomorrow.
I'm so glad it helped! Best of luck with your paper!
I have an ap world history test on this tomorrow thank you so much for your explanations!!! :)
I'm glad you found my video helpful. Best of luck on your test!!
So beautifully explained. . thank you
Thank you! I hope you found it helpful!
Representing the divisions between us: The Authoritarian. The Liberal. The Anarchist. They correlate with something game theory has revealed; some people are instinctually competitive (always out for self by default) and some are always cooperative, whilst a majority go either way depending on what seems to work best. I think this also relates to moral drivers - the ones who have entirely external reasons for doing good/not doing bad (they need church and state), the ones who mostly have internalised drives (good for good sake), and the ones driven largely by the desire for societal acceptance or fear of its rejection. The key point is, the authoritarian/competitive/external people have no idea that others exist, so for them, living in a world without authority is terrifying, because they think everyone will be bad because that's what they would be.
have you directly read the books they wrote or just small snippits of the books?
Its very well-explained! Thank you! It would help me a lot for my exam tomorrow
Glad it helped!
Gorgeous explaination sir ❤️
So nice of you! Thank you so much for the kind words!
Thanks a lot for this simple yet powerful explanation that is generally a thorn in most students' sides. So can these different views be considered thesis, antithesis and synthesis of the Social Contract theory?
Liked and subbed!
Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm glad you found my video helpful. I guess you could say they each had an antithesis of each others' theory in some way - and hopefully by weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each one, you can think of a way to synthesize those ideas. 😉
Thanks. I’ll try my best lol.
Thank you soo much..it helped alot with my exams
excellent it really helped me in last time revision hope to see more videos
I'm glad it helped! There are definitely more on the way. 👍😁
Great vid, thanks my dude!
Glad you liked it!
Lovely video and a very helpful explanation
Thank you so much!! I'm glad you found it helpful.
Great videos mate, thanks a lot!
Glad you like them!
Nice explanation!!!could you please explain the state of nature and sovereignty by Rousseau?it will be much helpful for my exam.
I don't think I'd be able to do that in time for your exam... but thank you for the comment!
just what i needed for my poli sci assignment thank you!!!
Glad I could help! All the best on your assignment!
amazing helped me so much!!!
Glad you found it helpful!
This was a really good video, thanks! Leaving a comment for the algorithm :)
Awesome, thank you!
Thank you this really helped me with my exams
Glad it helped!
Nice video, Very clear explenations. thanks allot!
Glad it was helpful!
can you please tell what are natural right from thomas hobbs againbut a better understanding pls
Thank you so much. It helped me a lot. I hope you were my college teacher.. Thank you Sir 😊
You're so welcome! Thank you for the comment! :) I'm glad you found my video helpful!
Good explanation. BTW are you wearing makeup all the time I was looking at that pink patch on your forehead it made me very curious. What is that if you don;t mind telling me?
Thanks for the comment! No - no makeup, just a bit of psoriasis. :/
thank you so much this was really helpful
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Well explained video, thank you.
I'm glad you found it helpful! Thank you! 😊
Sir what was the perspective of Hobbes Locke Rousseau regarding social contract.
I believe that world will be a good place to live, if all politicians learn about philosophy. Nice sharing anyway.
this is so good! thank you so much!😄
No problem 😊
Thank You,this video helped a lot!!
Glad it helped! Thanks for the comment!
@@KorczyksClass np😉✌
Thank you
God bless you
Very much helpful for those students who're not from social sciences but need political science knowledge for competitive exams ❤ more power to uh 🇵🇰
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful!
The state of nature despite not being rooted in historical reality still has the capacity of explaining what happens to humans before the emergence of the state and shows the conditions under which the state was able to emerge.
Thank you! Very helpful
Glad it was helpful! You're very welcome! 🙂
Calhoun and Montesquieu were also important in this issue
May I ask, what is their similarities?
This is amazing , I just subscribed.
Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you found the video helpful!
Thank you for breaking this philosophies down.
You're very welcome. I hope you found it helpful. :)
sir can you do character sketch of Plato?
Very nice video ..
It's clear all my Suspence
Thanks sir ..
I'm from INDIA
So nice of you, thanks! I'm glad you found my video useful!
@@KorczyksClass plz make continue video on polity
As a student of Political Science... I find the Social Contact Theory the most interesting and alluring.
Nice one am a student of Political Science too.
Am currently running my Master's programme in International Relations.
"Whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be constrained to do so by the whole body, which means nothing other than that he shall be forced to be free." ~ Rousseau.
Which seems completely contradictory in itself. Very interesting
"If your forced to do anything, your not free"
I'm a bit confused with Rousseau's beliefs in social contract and also about general will. Can you explain this again in simple form? Thank youuu
Rousseau can be the trickiest of the three to understand! In terms of the social contract, Rousseau simply believed that people need to give up their freedom for the good of the society (what he termed the general will). Only by working together can humanity reach its true potential, and that decisions would best be made by the community. His ideas, however, have historically led to tyranny and oppression, where leaders have imposed their views of what the general will should be. A major example of this was the reign of terror during the French Revolution... though this was not necessarily his intention.
Thank you. One last question 🙋♀️
Do you agree with Rousseau’s idea on the social contract? Why or why not?
Hmm, that's a tough one. Agree or disagree is tricky with Rousseau. I would argue that his idea of the social contract is unrealistic for large, modern societies. The idea of following the 'general will' for societies consisting of millions of people would be nearly impossible to accomplish - how do you determine what the 'general will' would be in a diverse society with many legitimate points of view?
You're so good. Thanks so much. This would help me a lot . Have a great time, thank you. ☺️
This is very constructive and too helpful. You all view it again and again
I'm glad you found it helpful!
Taking the opposing views of Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques Rousseau on children, whose side do you agree with? Defend your answer.
This sounds a lot like a question you're doing for class, haha. Consider their views on human nature. Hobbes: Generally destructive and Rousseau: Generally Good ... think of which you agree with, and think of some examples to support your answer.
Absolutely haha thank you and more power to your channel
Can you make a video like this on Hayek, Rawls and Nozick ?
Good idea, I'll try and come around to it.. I find Rawls quite interesting so I'll see how it'll work with my schedule. 👍
Nicely done!
Thank you! Cheers! :)
Thank you very much, This is really helpful ♡♡♡>_
You're welcome 😊 Glad it was helpful!
Thank you🙃🙂♥️sir🙏🏻
You're most welcome. All the best!
how are we aware of a general will, and what is good for it?
Thank you so much.
No worries!
Sad thing is....This topic was taught to us, at an Early age, an Early age where we wouldn't understand what the fuck was taught to us and we would just make fun of the name "Locke" and "Hobbes". This should've been taught to us at a much later grade in school.
Excellent 👏🏻 thank you
Glad it was helpful!
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