What is political legitimacy - Essay Example

John Locke’s view of political legitimacy emphasizes the necessity of respect for human rights and transfer of authority based on consent for effective public administration. Plato was philosopher and a mathematician during the Classical Greece. He was also an influential figure in the philosophy of the West. Plato, in The Republic, declared that an ideal society ought to be run by a council of philosopher-kings (Plato & Cornford 22). Plato recommended that philosophers needed to do a thorough learning of the world prior to making their way into leadership at the age of fifty.

According to Plato, the best form of political legitimacy constitutes the moral reordering of the whole society. Plato, thus, implied that moral societies are dedicated to returning to the best ways of doing things in order to be the best version through which the society can be idealistic and achieve perfect governance. Locke proposes that after the establishment of a social contract, the first act of the government is creating different branches of the government. Lock suggested that the optimum number of government branches should be three as this could ensure maximum peace and protection (Rawls & Freeman 53).

When people are assured of their protection, there are high chances of increased productivity because there is no fear of security threats. Peace in a country is the primary determinant of security and protection; therefore, the government should strive to use its machinery to ensure prevalence of peace and tranquility in the states. The Republic by Plato is actually an investigation at the harmonic justice that should be afforded to human beings and the balance required to establish the moral health of the soul.

Plato believed that search for political legitimacy is not streamlined since it constitutes a journey within using the models of ideal state,