Week 10
Anarchists argue that government is never justified in its exercise of authority. Locke argues that government is legitimate so long as it restricts itself to protecting our natural rights. Hobbes argues that government has a much broader authority to secure peace, and keep people's natural selfish instincts in check.

Which of the perspectives above do you agree with the most? Do you think your answer depends on what you think human nature is like (i..e. whether people are basically selfish or essentially good? Explain your answer on your blog.


I most agree with Locke's theory that "government is legitimate so long that as it restricts itself to protecting our natural rights." I like when he says that prior or after we form a government, we possess God-given inherent rights.
The way that I see this subject is that sometimes the government forget about the citizens itself and worries about the State interest only, loosing a little bit of humanity of what means to govern. Hobbes argues that "the government has provided us with education, with roads, with protection by the law and the police" and he mentions all of this as "benefits". "Benefits" that we have to pay for. However my problem with the system is not the fact that we are paying but the fact that not everyone is receiving the benefits and that's what I thought the government was supposed to be doing, take care of its citizens.