Locke vs Rousseau (Social Contract Philosophers Compared)

John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were both social contract theorists whose theories were widely read during the Enlightenment. They had some points of agreement, given that they did not agree with Thomas Hobbes' view that humans are inherently contentious and murderous by nature. They also agreed that the political community offers advantages over the state of nature and that the people do not give up their sovereignty by entering into the social contract.

Where Locke and Rousseau disagree is chiefly about the nature of freedom and whether private property existed in the state of nature. The disagreements between Locke and Rousseau on these points created significantly different understandings of the social contract. Locke's social contract is based on giving up specific rights in order to maintain the rest, while Rousseau's involves entering into a proto-socialist community with a government based on the general will.

[Biblical-christian]

I watched all three series of this section comparing social contract. I got A in my final AP exam. Thanks and God bless you.😇

[pjleash]

I guess you could say Locke was the first "social" influencer, hahah, I'll see myself out . . .

[dylanwhittaker]

writing an essay on social contract theorists right now. this video was super helpful and a nice refresher, thank you!

[daxisperry]

Excellent video as always! Now I need to pick up some writings from these two. Definitely finding myself to be a Locke man so far.

[chickenmcnuggets]

Thanks for the great video Tom. I'm glad that you are back to uploading content videos regularly

[SBS]

Good luck in your exams guys, thank you for the amazing content. ❤

[chekhovsgun]

Love these! You break things down elegantly and with a homey, cozy southern accent. I am hooked.

[scodosoayl]

The quote attributed to Voltaire at 2:54 should read by those predisposed to cancel culture and cancelling.

[apexanimations]

Wow Thanks For the Great Vid. I'm currently studying this in class

[Terrobul]

Anyone who thinks people are generally nice to each other has never driven on the freeway in SoCal

[juliengel]

Love your rhetoric, Tom Richey! Thanks for helping all of us teachers who are new to teaching philosophy in History Class! You d best!

[ishineandburn]

Don’t animals have their own territories? Surely this is a form of private property...

[realCorwynGaines]

John Locke’s ideas lead to the American Revolution, whereas Roseau’s ideas lead to the French Revolution. Tells you everything you need to know.

[GetUpGetUpGetUp]

I agree with Locke's idea of freedom and Rousseau's idea of property.

I'd really like it if you covered Proudhon's idea of the social contract at some point.

[Sir.suspicious]

The probelm with Rousseau's view is that Anthropology and Nature shows the opposite, humans in a primitive state would never be alone, if they were alone they wouldn't survive, we are a group species, and from the start there's no much a private property but more a hierarchy of access to group property that is split into families. This is how it still happens in many human tribes nowadays, its mostly shared but with different priorities, and some personal property exists, like personal hunting spots or locations

[shock_n_Aweful]

TY so much for these vids. Making this report a lot easier

[azurephoenix]

The worst thing about these videos is the ads that interrupt you.

[dimahqutaiba]

Why aren't u posting anymore ! Ur saving my life while watching this video !

[debblouin]

The problem with Locke is his concept of tabula rasa. There can be no blank slate. Ask any mother who has had multiple pregnancies. Each baby in the womb had differences from each other baby which they recognized early on. It becomes a chicken or the egg comparison, which came first, temperament or experience? Experience, to my mind, involves reaction, even in utero. What constitutes reaction if the person is a blank slate?

[TheJohnbare]

Government by Consent is Government for Group Identity:

1. Government by consent is only possible by sympathetic relations between governments and their subjects.

2. The cause of oppression is a lack of a sympathetic relation between governments and their subjects.

3. Sympathy between governments and their subjects is only possible by shared intentions.

4. Popular intention is expressed by support for institutions of ideology, politics, religion, culture, language, race and economics.

5. Institutions have the primary function of maintaining, uplifting and saving a group identity.

6. Group identity is freely chosen by people with shared intentions.

7. Shared intentions arise out of desire, want, need and necessity.

8. Government by consent is government for a specific group identity.