 Politics is the process by which a community interacts with its government

 In simple terms, philosophy is the study of the fundamental beliefs of an idea or concept

 Political philosophy is the study of how a community interacts with its government.

 Might makes right!  Adolf Hitler

 Royal family is sovereign.  King John of England 1215 CE

 God or gods rule through the leader!  Cleopatra: Ancient Eyptian pharoahs.

 Which philosophers speak to rule by citizens?

 Confucius- China  551 to 479 BCE

 Confucius’ desired society on earth to be just and stable. Goodness was the essential quality needed to keep society together. People are not born good, but must be taught goodness.  It was essential that the rulers be taught goodness, both spiritual and intellectual, because if rulers are too harsh, the people will lose their faith in the law.

 If people are taught goodness, then they will have those qualities and they will regulate themselves.  In the end, the people will only follow what in their hearts they feel is just.

 Plato- Greek philosopher  Wrote the Republic in 360 BCE.

 First, the best rulers are wise.  Second, the best rulers rule for the benefit of the ruled, and not for their own sake.  Third, a city is highly unlikely to have the best rulers, in part because there is a gulf between the values of most people and the values of the wise.

 Fourth, the greatest harm to a state is disagreement about who should rule, since competing factions create civil strife.  Fifth, the goal of politics is harmony or agreement among the citizens about who should rule.  Last, harmony requires that the state cultivate virtue and the rule of law.

 Thomas Hobbes- English writer 1650 to 1679

 Hobbes lived during the English Civil Wars.  He saw England torn apart by political division and competition. Businesses failed and life for many was worse than before the fighting.  Hobbes said “the state of nature is the state of war.”

 States needed strong central rulers to suppress private desires and allow business and peace to flourish.  States and citizens entered into a “social contract” specifying agreement of the terms of government rule.

 John Locke- England 

 Montesquie u- French traveler and writer 