SDS131R Chapter Notes -Immanuel Kant, Classical Liberalism, Political Philosophy
16 Oct 2013
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Document Summary
Classical liberalism is a political philosophy developed from the 17th century to the. 18th century by philosophers john locke, adam smith, and immanuel kant. These rights include the rights to life, liberty and property. When it comes to human nature, classical liberalists believe that humans are rational, self-interested, competitive actors. John locke adopted the idea of the social contract from thomas hobbes, which is the foundation of constitutionalism. By entering the social contract, individuals give rule to an authority, such as the government in order to maintain social order. This agreement moves people from a state of nature, where people are nasty, brutish and short to civil society. Locke disagreed with hobbes" view that the state of nature is the state of war. In locke"s mind, civil society could move into a state of war as well and therefore turned his focus to property.
