Rousseau & Locke on Society
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The main factor that separates the social contract theories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke has to do with the society each man wants to create and the obstacles each man wants to avoid. Rousseau was responding to the terrors of the French Revolution when he wrote his social contract theory. Locke wrote in less horrible conditions, but he was concerned with the King having too much power. Locke's social contract theory gives more freedom to the people than Rousseau does. This may be because Rousseau was more concerned with preventing another bloody revolution and less about political rights. For Locke, equality is rooted in the state of nature. Individuals are equal in the state of nature, but the state of war in nature means that a civil society is necessary for there to be security. To Locke, individuals who move from nature to society willingly give up some of their freedom to the leader of the society. In return, they get back freedom from the war of nature and protection of property. Up to that point, there is much more similarity than differences between Locke and Rousseau. They both believe that the state of nature for humanity was one of great freedom, but because of the insecurity and conflict it was a freedom that was not worth very much. There are differences in the amount of freedom that Rousseau and Locke grant to man in nature, but both agree that civil society with laws and a political system and a leader were necessary to give human beings securi
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Approximate Word count = 1162
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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