Innovative Ideas Of Democracy: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau

Throughout time, the ideas of democracy have changed with the help of many philosophers. Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu and Rousseau were four of the most important founders of the ideals of democracy. Through the Enlightenment Period, these thinkers began creating new ideas that would forever change the way governments are run through time. Our own American government reflects the ideas in some way or another of each of the philosophers we studied. Through new ideas, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu all changed the way government was run with the innovative ideas they created. Hobbes added to the ideas of democracy by creating the idea that all men are born bad with an urge for war. He stated that in order to have a stable society, government would be required to strictly watch and govern each citizen. He writes that man should give down their power to a much bigger government in order to maintain a single power that can help control the masses. This bigger
He argued that man was born naturally stable and desired good and needed to watch the government around them to guarantee that the government does not fail to protect those basic rights. He also argues that there shouldn’t be laws that affect only some people, like the rich versus the poor, but rather affect everyone. Rousseau added to the idea of democracy by creating the idea that people are born good but can be corrupted by society, therefore they need to make the laws themselves and willingly obey them. He believed that if left to itself, society would follow these equally created laws and society would maintain its naturally born goodness. He believes that only the general society is capable enough to run themselves with laws created by the people for the people. Much of these ideas are still around today combined with other ideas in our own