Locke, Hobbes, Aquinas, and Machiavell Theory on Self-Defense and Governance

In order for a political theorist to adequately theorize political structures, theories, strategies he must first deconstruct the basis of society. By first deconstructing society, the theorist is then able to reconstruct society and simultaneously elaborate on each component of society to then theorize on effective political structures. Locke, Hobbes, Aquinas, and Machiavelli each followed this process in creating their political theories and at the very center of each of their theories is a commentary on human conflict. Self-defense is the very first type of conflict between humans and is defined very differently by each theorist. The subject of self-defense renders the foundation of a political theory in that it illustrates a theorist’s presumptions regarding human nature and interaction, which extrapolates into how humans need to be governed.
John Locke wrote The Second Treatise of Government during a period of instability in England. The purpose was to refute popular ideas that “[asserted] the divine authority of kings and [denied] any right of resistance” and make the case for limited government (Locke, vii).
At the very foundation of Locke’s political theory is a conflict theory based on equality and reciprocity. Locke begins his argument by making the claim that all men exist in a state of nature, which includes liberty and equality, “wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another” (Locke, 8). In this, Locke asserts the idea of liberty and equality as mutually associative. Humans are all equal, and they have the liberty to pursue their interests, but Locke warns that liberty is not a synonym for license. By stating that society is based on the pillars of liberty, equality, and recip...

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... in the name of God.
Aquinas asserts an interesting view of government regarding laws and kings. He maintains, “Laws have binding force insofar as they have justice” (Aquinas 54). He briefly theorizes about the state of nature in that there is no unity between people and “would split into different factions unless there were also to exist a power to provide for what belongs to the common good” (Aquinas 204). Based on Aquinas’ position that humans are moral, society functions for the common good, and all just laws are binding, demonstrate that he supports whatever type of government benefits society. Aquinas uses monarchies in his political theories because they were the mot successful form of government at the time of his publication and consequently supports them frequently which leads the reader to believe that he prefers monarchies to other types of government.