Philosophy of Hobbes and Locke

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Hobbes' Playlist

Be Prepared- Lion King
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPUe7O3ODHQ

Great Comrade Kim Jong Un- North Korean Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLbWjwIwKrI

One Like Putin- Такого как Путин
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk_VszbZa_s

King- Lauren Aquilina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNdHd1asf9s

King And Lion Heart- Of Monsters And Men
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N30sBDpUR1Q

Locke's Playlist

Viva La Vida- Coldplay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE

No More King- School House Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-9pDZMRCpQ

Democracy- Nickelodeon's Election Connection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN2Rq6JGVsk

Glory- Common and John Legend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUZOKvYcx_o

French National Anthem
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=french+national+anthem

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Moon Jae In VS Kim Jong Un

Moon Jae In Kim Jong Un

In the modern day, there are many leaders that follow and support the philosophy of Locke’s and Hobbes’. Locke’s philosophy was that everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, thought, religion, and property. No one is able to take away these rights from anyone since they were born with it. An example of a modern leader that believes in Locke’s philosophy is the president of South Korea, Moon Jae In. Hobbes’ philosophy was that the king should have all the power because people are innately evil and they need to be controlled and be protected from themselves. An example of a modern day leader that believes in Hobbes’ philosophy is dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong Un.

South Korea follows Locke’s philosophy by having citizens vote for their own leader and if they dislike their leader, they can impeach him or her. An example of this was when Park Geun Hye was impeached for corruption, and she was replaced with Moon Jae In. An example of Moon Jae In’s belief in Locke’s philosophy was shown when Moon Jae In got voted into power with the votes of the people. Additionally, before Moon became a president, he protested against president Park Chung Hee for restricting people’s personal freedom in exchange for protection. This shows that Moon Jae In is following Locke’s philosophy because he is using his freedom of speech to impeach the president for trying to take away the natural rights of the citizens.

North Korea follows Hobbes’ philosophy by having the dictator to have all the power in order to protect the citizens. Kim Jong Un was born under Kim Jong Il and he was born under Kim Il Sung. This family restricted the rights of people to protect the people and created weapons to protect them from other countries as well. People don’t have the right to speak up against the government and if they do, they get killed. This shows that Kim Jong Un’s philosophy is similar to Hobbes because Kim believes that having one central power is a good form of government. Since his family was always a military dictatorship for generations, Kim Jong Un is continuing this legacy.

Philosophies of Locke and Hobbes caused these countries to develop differently. South Korea became a technological haven due to the right of people, while North Korea is more military based because the government invests more in military. The difference in leaders is that Moon Jae in is more open to ideas, meanwhile Kim Jong Un is more strict. This proves that these philosophies can shape the countries differently.

South and North Korean Flag

Most Useful Philosophy in Modern Times

Locke’s philosophy is most useful today because it guarantees natural rights for all men. His ideas were written into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution which led people to stand up for their rights and beliefs. This philosophy allowed people to begin wars against oppressions from government and challenge authorities. Locke’s philosophy is seen in the civil rights movement and women’s rights movement. Hobbes’ philosophy doesn’t work in the modern day because as seen from dictatorship from North Korea, it’s not as successful as democratic countries.

Locke’s idea was used during the civil rights movement where African Americans were oppressed. Although slavery was abolished and they gained legal rights, racial segregation continued to arose in the south. Some examples of oppression were when Africans American were beaten just because of their skin color and young children had to walk miles to get to their school although there were some near them. The whites were privileged for being white and blacks were killed just for being black. After facing these unequal treatments, they decided to stand up for their rights against the government as what Lock stated. As a result, more legal rights were given to African Americans and created a less racist society.

Locke’s idea was used during the women’s rights movement where women were treated unequally from men. Men had higher wages, right to vote, and rights in general while women were told to stay home. This made women frustrated so they decided to create a movement and took actions for gender equality. These women gathered at the Seneca Fall Convention and wrote the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments. Due to their effort, women were able to get the right to vote along with the men. Locke’s philosophy shows that if you go against the government and show what you want, you’ll get what you want.

Some may say that Hobbes’ philosophy might work better, but modern day example such as North Korea shows that it’s not as successful. For example, compared to south korea, their technologies aren’t as advanced and people are dying from hunger and illnesses. The dictator has most of the money and power. Citizens of North Korea doesn’t have natural rights which is guaranteed in America. As you can see, country that is using Locke’s philosophy is doing better than a country using Hobbes’ philosophy.

Locke’s philosophy is used even until today. His idea allowed people to express what they wanted and gave people the natural rights. This is demonstrated in the civil rights movements and the women’s rights movements, where oppressed people stood up for their rights. This was successful because after both movements, African Americans and women got more rights. Hobbes’ philosophy is less useful because North Korea who's using his philosophy is not doing well compared to democratic countries.

CITATIONS

NA. "Introduction to the Civil Rights Movement." Khan Academy. Web. 24 July 2018. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/civil-rights-movement/a/introduction-to-the-civil-rights-movement>.

NA. "Women's rights and the Seneca Falls Convention." Khan academy. NA, Web. 24 July 2018. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/the-early-republic/culture-and-reform/a/womens-rights-and-the-seneca-falls-convention>.