The Governments and States of Locke, Aquinas, and St. Augustine Essay e

In John Lockes Second Treatise of Government, he identifies a government that is of the peoples fancy with his essential raison d&900tre being the preservation and protection of personal property. This type of government is extremely comparable with the type of government that St. Augustine describes in his work metropolis of God, while at the same time contrasts the views of Aquinas in the ways a arouse should operate. The end goal of how each of these philosophers states purposes presents the greatest split surrounded by each of their philosophies. To understand how each of these philosophers states are similar and incompatible from each other, a deeper analysis is necessary. The first and possibly most striking similarity amid the states that both Locke and St. Augustine propose lies in the fact that both see the state as a necessary disgust. Locke describes the perfect vivification as one in the state of nature, where there are limitless boundaries to freedom. Within thes e limitless boundaries to do whatever you want lays the ability for others to do harm to you and your property, because they have bonk freedom as well. In order to overcome this lack of security, Locke describes the state as a necessary evil which one must give up certain freedoms in order to be saved under the rule of law. This is similar to St. Augustine in the respect that within the world there are evil men who will do harm to others. Augustine argues that laws are necessary to make sure that people can live with the peace of mind that they are protected from the sins of others.One of the contrasting points the states of Aquinas and Locke possess is rooted in how each state should set up and decide their laws. Aquinas argues that we should set up our laws found on high morals, which all men could agree on, and on the high nonsuchs of natural law. Locke disagrees with this in the respect that all men are Tabula Rasa, which begin life as blank slates and develop their views and ideas based on the experiences they are exposed to. According to Locke the men in the state of Aquinas would all have different experiences and place importance on different morals and ideals. Therefore, Locke argues that in order to have a legitimate set of laws, they must be based on very solid foundations which cannot be subject to assembly line. Such foundations would be the protection of property, as well as the ... ...ant to be told that there is only one discrepancy of right and wrong, which is exactly what the opposing state proposes. Examples of the type of state that Aquinas and St. Augustine present can be seen in some of the failed regimes of the past century. Prime examples of states that try to strive for the better good of its people, and failed, can be seen in both Nazi Germany and communist Russia. These states attempted to take each individual and force them into an ideal mold of what they wanted their citizens to become. Even though these societies succeeded f or some amount of time, both have since collapsed and states in the Lockean from have arose out of their ashes.As aforementioned, both of the types of states presented have intemperate and weak points to ponder on. Both have rose to power at one point in time or another, although the Lockean state has remained where others have fallen. Overall, an argument can be made that in our modern world with globalization and a never ending mixing of cultures the only way for a state to succeed is to put ideological ideals behind and look to protect the greater good by looking out for the peace, safety, and public good of its people.