The Philosophers and the Nature of Politics

1. The Philosophers and the Nature of Politics

2. [Human beings] need each other to be truly free, to become human. We can be human only in fellowship, in community, in koinonia, in peace. - Archbishop Desmond Tutu

3. The Classical Philosophers

4. Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE) • He was the sixth king of Babylon. • He is best known for the Code of Hammurabi. • They are commonly considered to be some of the first written codified laws in recorded history. • The laws were inscribed on large stones that were discovered around the turn of the twentieth century. • The Code consists of 282 laws, with corresponding punishments • The laws cover issues relating to: religion, military service, trade, slavery and workers responsibilities.

5. Confucius (551-479 BCE) • A philosopher who founded the Ru school of thought. • His teachings form the foundation for how an individual should live his life and interact with others, and the forms of society and government in which he should participate. • Confucius' political philosophy was rooted in his belief that a ruler should learn self-discipline, should govern his subjects by his own example, and should treat them with love and concern. • For Confucius, what characterized superior rulership was the possession of de or ‘virtue’, which allowed one to win a following without recourse to physical force. (SEP)

6. Plato (427-347 BCE) • Was a Greek philosopher and student of Socrates, who lived during the Classical Period (490-323BC). • One of the first western thinkers to record reflections on politics and government. • In The Republic, Plato noted that human instinct longs to create social connections to meet basic needs. • He argued that people could not achieve any happiness or fulfillment outside the community, or the polis. • In short he believed that if the community is happy, then the individual will be happy as well

7. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) • A student of Plato and tutor for Alexander the Great. • Considered by some to be the father of political science. • Believed the most important task for the politician is that of lawgiver. • It was the government’s responsibility to tell people what to do. • In order for a government to have legitimacy, the ruler/s regulations must be accepted as appropriate by the polis

8. Platonic-Aristotelian Types of Governments • Both Plato and Aristotle examined governments based on their lawfulness or lawlessness, they were less concerned with the type or number of rulers • They classified governments under the following headings:

9. Early Modern Philosophers

10. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) • The first modern political commentator to provide a secular rationale for dictatorship. • Supported the social contract theory which explains the appropriate relationship between the ruler and the polis • In Leviathan Hobbes argued that an absolute ruler could provide the troubled populace with peace, security, and the rule of law. • He believed that without effective and absolute government the state would suffer. • In a state of nature people are in a state of war and they must relinquish rights to experience true freedom.

11. John Locke (1632-1704) • Was amongst the first to argue that humans have natural rights such as life, liberty and property. • To ensure the preservation of rights citizens must work in contract with the government. • If the government does not provide protection or does not fulfill the contract then the people have the right to break the contract. • Best demonstrated when the English Parliament removed King James II in 1688.

12. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) • Believed that society had corrupted the perfect relationship between human and nature. • Theories centered around how to reconcile the freedom of the individual with the authority of the state. • Rousseau believed that the wealthy and powerful were corrupting the political landscape. • He believed it needed to be changed to protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of their wealth. • He also questioned the institution of private property believing that all deserved an equal share. • His ideas were adopted by the leaders of the French Revolution. • Rousseau agreed that the monarchy should exist to enforce the laws but he believed that the laws should reflect the will of the people, and that the people must be willing to submit to these laws.

13. Adam Smith (Scottish) and Baron de Montesquieu (French) • Important 18th century figures who believed that politics stretched further than the social contract between ruler and people. • Adam Smith believed that economics played a key role in political decision making. • He helped lay the framework for the free market by arguing that self-interest and competition can create a sound economic state. • Baron de Montesquieu believed that all things were made up of rules and laws that never changed and therefore they could be measured scientifically. • He also believed in the “separation of powers” and liked the English model of dividing between the King (executive), the Parliament (legislative) and the judges (judicial). • He argued that these divisions would help ensure that no one power could become abusive.

14. Karl Marx (1818-1883) • Argued that class divisions created all conflict within society . • He provided a classless economic/political model that supported a system where the means of production would be shared amongst all workers thereby destroying class divides.