Political Thought in Age of Reason

Francisco de Vitoria:

• All humans share the same nature.
• They therefore have the same rights.
• No people has dominion over another because…
• …in the beginning everything was common to all.

Jean Bodin:

• Competing power and structures lead to civil war and chaos…
• …so there must be a single sovereign answerable only to God.
• For a sovereign’s power to be absolute, it must be perpetual and not granted by others or limited in time.
• Therefore, sovereignty is the absolute and perpetual power of a commonwealth.

Johannes Althusius:

• Humans associate in groups at different levels, families, organizations, cities, provinces, and states.
• The purpose of the state is to protect members of its associations and their communications.
• Elected state representatives must reflect the many views of these differing associations.
• Thus, politics is the art of associating men.

Hugo Grotus:

• Life and property are natural rights of all individuals.
• People have the power to claim these rights.
• The state has no legitimate power to take these liberties away.
• Therefore, liberty is the power we have over ourselves.

Thomas Hobbes:

• Left ungoverned, men will terrorize each other in a state of nature…
• …in which individuals will stop at nothing to ensure their own self-preservation or self-promotion.
• In the state of nature, the condition of man is a condition of war of everyone against everyone.
• To avert a descent into the state of nature, men must enter into a social contract submitting to the authority and protection of a sovereign.
• The sovereign must be an absolute ruler, with indivisible and unlimited power, to prevent factional strife and chaos.
• If a sovereign fails in their duty, the social contract is broken and individuals may take action, leading back to a state of nature.

John Locke:

• Humans are rational, independent agents with natural rights.
• They join political society to be protected by the rule of law.
• Thus, the end of law should be to preserve and enlarge freedom.

Montesquieu:

• A government’s administration duties should be split between three powers…
• …an executive branch, responsible for enforcing the laws of a state.
• …a legislative branch, responsible for passing and amending the laws of a state.
• …a judicial branch, responsible for interpreting the laws of a state.
• Therefore, since these power are separate from and dependent on one another, the influence of any one power cannot exceed that of the other two.

Ben Franklin:

• The health of a nation depends on the virtue of its citizens.
• Aristocrats are conservative and unproductive.
• Independent entrepreneurs are useful, industrious, and thrifty.
• Thus, independent entrepreneurs make good citizens.

Source: The Politics Book.

Except for Hobbes and Bodin all are good ideas. What Bobin wants is a monarchy. But unless the ruler has direct contact with God and prove his communication there is no way to prove what God is instructing him to do. As for Hobbes his idea won’t work because if everyone is a beast then what’s to prevent the ruler from being a beast? I mean he’s a person too. So, the sovereign will eventually fail in his duty.

Like I stated before, Locke and Montesquieu were widely read by the Founders. That’s where we got the Constitution. Especially, Montesquieu.

And then there is Benjamin Franklin. My favorite Founder. You gotta love him.