POLSC201: Introduction to Western Political Thought

Political philosophers like Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke spent much of their life and work analyzing the nature of the modern state. All lived during times of great political and social upheaval throughout Europe, and these men, including many of their contemporaries, began questioning the notion of the divine, God-given rule of the monarchical system and challenging their role as citizens in it.

Machiavelli is credited with the distinctly modern notion of an artificial state in which the leader should rule swiftly, effectively, and in a calculated manner. Many associate his theories with the use of deceit and cunning in politics; after Machiavelli, politics was conceived of as an art in which the best rulers governed shrewdly, carefully, and in a calculating manner.

Thomas Hobbes adapted this Machiavellian approach on a much larger scale. For Hobbes, the state should be sovereign and secular; the citizens should give up both their allegiance to the Church and their rights in exchange for physical security. However, while modern political thought has been built upon the Machiavellian notion of the artificiality of the state, the moderns disagreed on how people should behave and on the degree of a government's strength and pervasiveness necessary to properly govern citizens.

John Locke responded to a strict concept of sovereignty with the idea of constitutional government. Like Hobbes, Locke imagined a civil society capable of resolving conflicts in a civil way, with help from government. However, Locke also advocated the separation of powers and believed that revolution is not only a right but, at times, an obligation of citizenship. These three thinkers represent the foundation of modern state theory.

For this assessment, you will compare and contrast the theories of Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Locke on a number of topics that relate to the evolution and establishment of the modern state. Using this unit's primary readings as a guide, summarize each author's positions on these topics. In the feedback provided after you submit your answers you will find the location in the respective texts where the answer can be found.