Niccolo Machiavelli Thomas Hobbes John Locke Jean Jacques Rousseau Karl Marx

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Intro. to Political Science. Isiaka A. Adams

Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli is the father of modern

Political Science and the classic of modern Political Realism. He stood between Middle Age (Theocracy) and Modern Age (Secular/non-religious) thoughts and institutions. He pioneered the break away from faithbased politics in the West. Machiavelli separated politics from religion in his famous book, The Prince.
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Machiavellicontd.
In the Machiavellian doctrine, the end

justifies the means: no morality in politics. The ruler is above the law, he is not bound by moral principles and he could use any means to meet political expediency. He may employ cruelty, murder or any other negative means to achieve his political goals. Machiavelli divorced ethics from politics. His political theory is amoral/immoral.
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Thomas Hobbes
Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau are called

Social Contract theorists. They all emphasise contract as the foundation of governance. Hobbes believes government is not from God but men. Men hitherto lived in a state of nature (natural condition) that necessitated a war of each against all.
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Hobbescontd.
In the Hobbessian state, there was no arts; no

letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. The people entered into a social contract with the Leviathan (a powerful ruler) for protection from pervasive violence. By the contract, the people surrendered all their rights and powers to the ruler in order to protect them. Thus, Hobbes argues that sovereignty lies in the ruler and not the people.
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Hobbescontd.
Hobbes asserts that the people cannot revoke the

contract since the Leviathan was not part of it. The ruler could do whatever he likes and the people cannot revolt against the ruler. Hobbes ideas created an absolute, omnipotent, permanent, universal and inalienable sovereign power for the ruler. His ideas support totalitarian and autocratic regimes without constitutional checks and balances.
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John Locke
In contrast to Hobbes, Locke argued that the

people created the government through the social contract and based on their consent. Locke insists that the ruler must protect the life, liberty and property of the people. The people have the right to remove, or revolt against a ruler if he falters in his political duties. Locke asserts that the ruler has no absolute power. His powers are limited by popular will.
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Lockecontd.
He emphasizes popular (peoples) sovereignty

as the supreme authority. For Locke, supreme authority resides in the peoples representatives in the legislature and ultimately in the people. The legislature and the executive, however, have supreme authorities in their limited spheres. Locke is considered as the Father of Liberal Democracy due to his liberal principles.
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived in the 18th Century

France. He contributed to the philosophical foundation for the French Revolution of 1789. In the beginning of his famous book, Social Contract, he asserts that Man is born free but everywhere is in chains. Rousseau said life in the state of nature was good as people lived as noble savages (like in haven) with neither artifice nor jealousy. Men wanted more freedom; so they enter into social contract.
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RousseauContd
Rousseau favours the general will craved

by the whole community wants as against particular wills held be individuals and groups. Those opposed to the ruler or the general will should be crushed. Rousseau asserts that sovereignty resides in the General Will of the people.

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RousseauContd
The society make the people and not the other

way round; also bad people are made by the society. He believes that a just society with voluntary participation would make good people. A good society would force men to be free. He envisaged a perfect society of government by the general will, which the ruler (dictator) claims to know. Hes often criticized for promoting totalitarianism but his theory is useful in developing democracy.
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Karl Marx
Karl Marxs ideas is generally referred to as

Marxism, which is opposite of liberal democracy. His body of ideas based on history is called Dialectical Materialism. Dialectical Materialism is the Marxian concept of reality in which material things are in the constant process of change. This change is brought about by tension between conflicting or interacting forces, elements, or ideas.
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Karl Marxcontd
In the Marxist political ideology, Capitalism,

Socialism and Communism are successive stages of the development (changes) in the human society. Marx says that the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. This class struggle will ultimately lead the Proletariat (the working class) to overthrow the bourgeoisie (the capitalist class).
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Karl Marxcontd
A classless society would emerge from the

overthrow. Marx views the state as the instrument of the dominant class. Eventually, when the class struggle is won by the Proletariat, the state would wither away. Many people confuse Communism with Marxism and declare the latter dead after the collapse of the USSR.
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Karl Marxcontd
Under Capitalism, there is private ownership of property and the owners of the means of

production dominate the workers through the power of the state. It is the survival of the fittest: The rich dominates the poor. But the poor workers would continue to struggle against the rich class and the state. When the capitalist class is eventually overthrown, a classless society will emerge and there will be no private ownership of property.
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Karl Marxcontd
Under the new order called Socialism, each person will get according to his needs. Socialism is the economic system of state ownership of industry for the good of the whole society. It is the opposite of capitalism or liberalism. It emphasizes collective ownership of the means of production.

Under Socialism, the state will still exist but it will no longer support any group interest because the society is now classless.
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Karl Marxcontd
Marx says Socialism will induce efficient production and distribution of goods/services.

When industrial production is high, the Socialist society will develop into Communisma perfect society without money, private property, police or even government.
Under Communism, no one will break the law or be selfish to want to take property for themselves.

However, the above are just postulations (Utopia) and not true as Capitalism dominates till date whereas Socialism failed in the Soviet Union.
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