Purpose of Government According to Philosophers - Term Paper Example

Purpose of Government according to Philosophers The purpose for which governments should exist has been a preoccupation of philosophers from the classical period to the modern societies. While Plato and Aristotle represent classical philosophers, Hobbes and Locke are a part of what is seen as modern philosophers. Some of the difficulties that society in the classical period faced are the same as what society experience today. For example, the question on whether to have a democratic, aristocratic, tyrannical or oligarchy was handled by in the classical period by Aristotle yet the same question still presents when discussing modern forms of governments. Thus, it is true to say that philosophers of classical period and modern philosophers are still faced with the same question on what is the purpose of the government and how does the government exercise its powers. According to Plato’s idea of an ideal state, the structures and functions in society should be explored in relation to the structure of individual soul. According to him, the individual soul is the different parts of the body in which the workers were the productive part that is represented by the abdomen, the solders that are the protective part represented by the chest and philosopher kings are the governing part that is represented by the head. From this classification, Plato envisioned the government, solders and workers each performing a different function in the state. The state as represented by the head can be seen to control and direct the functioning of other parts of the state as the whole body. This means that the government which is represented by the head, has the role of coordinating the activities all other parts of the society (Chang 71). Plato’s stand as expressed in the Laws presents and authoritarian view of government and authority. He claims that for a society to prosper, the authority must impose the right conditions on the people. Further, for maintenance of this prosperity, the authority should be iron fisted in dealing with the people (Crombie 178). My view is that this form of government does not allow the people to exercise their rights freely since all the power rests on the rulers and the people cannot question the decisions made by such a government. A government that functions under such ideals might become tyrannical thus denying the people their rights to exercise their opinion freely. Plato and Aristotle differed in their views of the functioning of the government where Plato’s idea of government was a centralized system with power resting in the hands of a few individual who belong to a political class and they exercised sovereignty over laws governing the land. His idea of the soul and the body where governing is a function of the head means that the government is a reserve of a few who are able to climb to the highest pinnacle of society. I find Aristotle’s government functioning as a more suitable one since it allows for the governing of the people through a constitution. This is a favorable system given that the sovereign power lies with the people and the government exercises such powers according to the demands of the society. Aristotle sees the functioning of the government as determined by the aspirations of people that is enshrined in the constitution. According to him, the functioning and purpose for which the society sets up a government is enshrined in the will of the people and is further expressed through the constitution. The government function is based on the different forms that they take. Aristotle claims that the role of government will vary depending on whether it is a tyranny, aristocracy, an oligarchy or a democratic government (Simpson 215). Aristotle stated in his definition that a constitution is an organization of offices particularly one that has sovereignty over all the others in the society. In this definition, Aristotle recognized offices as the constitution and not a written law. A government will function differently, he argues, when a new social class takes power. This is because it is the constitution, which determines how governments functions. Even when there is a change in the ruling class, Aristotle sees the core purpose of government as that of widening the people’s knowledge while at the same time promoting virtues and securing justice for all the citizens (Jayapalan 56). Even as the state is ruled through the constitutional office, Aristotle urged that the people and not experts be better placed to determine how they should be ruled since they know what they expect from their government (57). I find Aristotle idea on the purpose of government more applicable in society because it places sovereign power in the hands of the people. It also encourages democratic principles of government were the people and not authority are above the law. The concern of classical philosophers like Plato and Aristotle over the purpose of the government did not end in the classical period. Modern philosophers also grappled with the question on the purpose that their government should serve. In his book, Second Treatise of Government, Locke is concerned with the reasons why man forms society arguing that it is for the reason of protecting what people own that they decide to come together to form a government. Government according to Locke does not only protect life, but also the liberty and property of people under its rule. The government according to him would ensure that people’s property is protected from those whose aim might be preventing the rightful owner from enjoying what they had acquired. Although the government is given the right to protect the individual’s property, such a government does not have the mandate to take away the property from the individual. (O'Flynn 33). According to Locke's argument, people submit their God given natural freedom to the government and they expect the government to fulfill its promise that their security and that of their property will be assured. Further, Locke’s concept of the government is that the people choose a selected few to legislate on the laws that are applied to the whole society but the people the supreme law is exercised by the people who reserve the right to remove those from government who fail to guarantee the rights of the people. Another modern philosopher that holds protection as the reason for the formation of government is Hobbes. The explanation provided by Hobbes who summed up nature of humankind as being brutish, short and nasty. These characteristics compelled humanity to form a government that would ensure they are protected against harm, war and death. The government according to Hobbes is said to be functioning only when it protects the life and property of its subjects. Further Hobbes claim that all that is good in the life of a human being is depended on a prior formation of an autonomous power that that has the only mandate to exercise coercive force while at the same time expecting complete obedience from the subjects (Sanders & Aeon 208). Thus according to him, the people Both Locke and hobbles deal with human being and nature in their books Second Treatise on Government and Leviathan respectively. In this regard, both are of the idea that the laws of nature force human beings have equal treatment of each other’s life and property. Nevertheless, Locke is less anxious that human are in a continuous war when there is no government to impose the rule of law in society (Sanders & Aeon 208). From the analysis of Hobbes’ idea on the purpose for the formation of governments by society, one gets the impression that human being had only one option, to submit to a sovereign power or suffer. Although he does not underestimate the value of the government to society, the individual according to Locke’s idea chooses the government by willingly and not as a matter of life or death. Hobbes and Locke even though considered modern philosophers, share some similar ideas with classical philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. The question of what role the government should play in the life of the people is one that has been with human beings since the classical periods. The classical philosophers were also concerned with the different styles of government as they tried to defend their different theories on the suitable form of government that will ensure protection of life and property while at the same time guaranteeing prosperity of the people. Plato and Aristotle were preoccupied with the understanding of virtue and justice, which was a basis of who in society, was best fit to lead. In both cases, the two were concerned with political leadership of the day and in future and how it served its subjects. Modern philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Hobbes question the assumptions of these classical philosophers while at the same time relating their own principles of social, order governance and human nature. Works Cited Chang, Kei Eun. The Community, the Individual and the Common Good. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013. Print. Crombie, Ian M. An Examination of Plato's Doctrines: Plato on knowledge and reality. Routledge, 2012. Print. Jayapalan, N. Comprehensive Study Of Plato. Atlantic Publishers & Dist, 2002. O'Flynn, Michael. Profitable ideas: the ideology of the individual in capitalist development. Vol. 15. Brill, 2009. Print. Sanders, Steven, & Aeon J. Skoble, eds. The philosophy of TV noir. University Press of Kentucky, 2008. Print. Simpson, Peter. Vices, Virtue and Consequences: Essays in Moral and Political Philosophy. Vol. 35. CUA Press, 2001. Print. Read More