Hobbes Locke Rousseau Impact On Democracy

The philosophies of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Montesquieu had a profound effect on the concept of democracy. All of their philosophies had a contribution in the development of democracy.

Even though Hobbes’s philosophy of government seems to be completely against the idea of democracy, it still had a positive effect. He displayed the people’s bad side and had an understanding who should be responsible for taking care of that bad side. Hobbes’s believed that the government should be responsible for the people’s safety and security. This idea helped influence democracy as we see it today, where the government protects the people and promotes peace in the nation.

Locke’s philosophy also contributed to the idea of democracy. He believed that

the purpose of the government is to protect the life, liberty, and property of its citizens and to create order in society. His philosophy helped the idea of democracy to overlap into human’s basic rights which are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness as well as the right to property. His philosophy had a huge effect on the development of democracy and what democracy does for its citizens.
Rousseau’s philosophy was also a major contributor to the development of democracy. He believed that government should only be in place when the people approve of it and that the people should be able to change the government if they disapprove. With this idea he helped develop the idea in democracy that the people have the right to change government and that there should not be a government in place that disrespects the rights of its citizens. He believed that all people are equal and everyone should have an equal say.
Montesquieu’s philosophy had a huge effect on the setup of government and how it prevents corruption. He believed that in order to protect the people from a corrupt government, it should be split into three parts which check and balance each other to make sure they are not crossing any boundaries. He stated that the government should have a legislative, executive, and judiciary branch. The legislative branch would make the laws, the executive branch would enforce the laws, and the judiciary branch would interpret the laws.
With all of these philosophies something amazing was formed and that was democracy. Without these philosophies democracy may not have been the same as it is today or may not have even come to be. Every philosopher had an impact on democracy’s creation. Standing alone, none of their ideas of government would work as efficiently as the modern day democracy, but together they create one of the most prominent governments in the history of the world.