The Views Of Locke And Godwin On The Origin Of Government

In England, 17 century is the time of the fundamental revolution of breakthrough took place and sprung up some influential political thinkers. John Locke is the forefather of liberty while William Godwin was one of the proponent of anarchism, and both of them are great English philosopher after the enlightenment who take significant influence on successors. This essay will focus on the views of Locke and Godwin on the origin and purpose of government, the extent of authority, as well as some opinions according to their flaws. The views of Locke and Godwin on the origin of government are different but share many similarities which due to the influence of the enlightenment. The origin of Godwin s ideas came from the basic idea of the enlightenment that everyone can think rationally, the overriding goal of enlightenment was to give individuals greatest possible freedom and let them did contribution to society due to humanity s fundamental rationality and goodness. Therefore, Godwin believed that if everyone can achieve their self-perfectibility, rational men had no need for government to imposed from the outside, just as the utopia he conceived (Sonn 1992, p.14). However, Locke s views which also influenced by Renaissance in some extent that he tried to provide a conception of the state of nature where men being are free, equal and independent, which included in the nature right. After that, a civil society is established by giving part of their power to communityShow MoreRelatedJohn Locke And William G odwin1770 Words   |  8 PagesJohn Locke (1632-1704) and William Godwin (1756-1836) were both English philosophers. Locke and Godwin discuss their views on the origin, purpose as well as extent of authority of a government in their publications. Locke felt that government originated from a social contract and advocated governments which respected their citizens while Godwin saw any form of government as a form of evil thus he advocated self-government and believed that having no government was the ideal state but in the eventRead More Classical Liberalism VS Classical Conservatism Essay2055 Words   |  9 Pages2006) Classical Liberalism is described as â€Å"a philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets.† (Hudelson, 1999) These two ideas have shaped our philosophies and parties for centuries to come. These philosophies were made possible by many bright men of th e time like Edmund Burke, John Adams, John Locke and Adam Smith. Classical conservatism or traditional conservatismRead MoreClassical Liberalism vs Classical Conservatism2089 Words   |  9 Pages2006) Classical Liberalism is described as â€Å"a philosophy committed to the ideal of limited government and liberty of individuals including freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and free markets.† (Hudelson, 1999) These two ideas have shaped our philosophies and parties for centuries to come. These philosophies were made possible by many bright men of the time like Edmund Burke, John Adams, John Locke and Adam Smith. Classical conservatism or traditional conservatism, Burkean conservatism