Classical and Modern Theories of Political Society
Aristotle
For Aristotle, man is social by nature. This is because man develops fully only through the cultivation of reason.
Society, for this author, has as its main goal to provide mechanisms and appropriate opportunities for man to achieve virtue.
In this way, the polis (city-state) should be governed by laws that are adequate for this purpose and adapted to its members. It is therefore extremely important to educate citizens to become part of city government.
Like Plato, Aristotle distinguished between forms of legitimate and illegitimate government. Thus:
Aristotle’s Classification of Governments
- The Monarchy (rule by one in the interest of the community) would turn into Tyranny (rule by a self-interested individual).
- Aristocracy (rule by the best for the polis) would end up becoming Oligarchy (rule by the few in favor of the dominant group).
- Polity (majority rule in favor of the community) would end up becoming Demagoguery (majority rule in response to their appetites).
Thomas Hobbes
For Hobbes, man is a wolf to man (homo homini lupus), because in his state of nature he is selfish, leads a precarious life, and has the same opportunities as any other individual to prevail in a confrontation.
Because of this continuing struggle for equality and resources, the human being lives in a state of perpetual war against each other.
The human being, endowed with reason, sees the establishment of a contract as a natural consequence, by which all signatories agree to submit to a monarch.
From this union between individuals and the submission to superior force, civil society emerges, composed of the members and institutions of a state. Hobbes represents the state as a great Leviathan.
Thus, members receive protection from the law and the sovereign power to enforce and punish crimes.
However, the monarch has a duty to enforce laws and has absolute power. The monarch only needs to worry about fulfilling its mandate to provide a quiet life for citizens. Otherwise, citizens are free to leave the civil society and look for protection in other societies.
John Locke
For Locke, the human being in the state of nature is free and absolute master of his life and property. There is also a natural law that obliges every human being to respect the life, health, and property of others.
However, the existence of some individuals who break this law requires the creation of a contract between different individuals to ensure compliance with this law.
First, the contract establishes the conditions agreed upon to govern the union between individuals, forming civil society.
Secondly, it establishes the characteristics and bonds of government. Against Hobbes, John Locke argues that state power is not absolute; rulers are obliged to respect the laws. For this, the British philosopher advocates the separation of powers between the legislative and the executive.
Locke’s Separation of Powers
- The legislative function is to enact laws. Its strength and legitimacy come from the individuals who compose civil society, who freely elect their legislators.
- The executive must respect and ensure the correct execution of the laws that the legislature has enacted.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Against Hobbes, Rousseau believes that human beings in a state of nature live a placid and easy life, living in harmony with other individuals.
Human beings are good by nature, and it is society that corrupts them. Clashes between individuals take place when they live in groups, which causes the enrichment of some and the impoverishment of others, leading to injustice and jealousy.
To remedy such injustice, Rousseau proposes the establishment of an agreement called the Social Contract.
The origin of this contract lies in the General Will, which loves and defends the interests of the community above any particular interest.
Thus, laws passed by the assembly acquire the status of natural laws: they appear to be fair, universal, and inalienable.
For the French thinker, democracy embodies the system of government best suited to achieve the objectives of the Social Contract.