Topic > Elite philosophers: John Locke, Niccolò Machiavelli,...

At the beginning of the 19th century, after the recession had almost wiped out the hopes of people in Europe, four elite philosophers emerged who gave people something to believe in: John Locke, Niccolò Machiavelli, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Soon new perspectives on people and politics began to emerge, and discussions arose about what ideologies others had. It could be said that Locke saw Machiavelli representing the interests of the monarch without any consent of the people because in Prince he explained how a growing leader should rule through intimidation as this is the only way to maintain control compared to Locke who believed that people were independent in making their own decisions. In contrast, it can be argued that Marx saw Locke as an ideology of capitalism because of the way they both viewed humans as independent people who should be seen as equals, thus making humans and property resources of capitalism. they aim at fear and to control people, a leader must arise and do anything, even if it is against their will. This ideology is represented quite well in Prince, by a prince who strives to succeed. When the question of whether to be loved or feared is raised, Machiavelli states that naturally one would want both as leaders. (Machiavelli 66) He also states that people would find more “safety” in being feared than in being loved as he comes to the assumption that men are ungrateful and will do anything to escape danger and protect themselves. (Machiavelli 66) Assuming what humans are likely to do, he evaluates that humans are selfish in the way they think and need someone to lead the way for them because they should not be free to decide what they might do. This is... middle of the paper... writers changed the way people thought about government and politics in Europe in the early 19th century and built a way to still think today. Machiavelli had put forward the idea of ​​how exploiting a person's weakness can benefit a ruler in controlling his state and representing the people of the state inferior to him. This could be seen as putting the interest of the monarch before that of the people, which in turn could be supported by Locke who had purely opposing beliefs. Some of Locke's beliefs could be justified by Marx as the ideology could be seen as capitalism through human investment. Through the examples given by Prince, the Second Treatise of Government and the Communist Manifesto it can be said that these philosophers could come to these conclusions about each other from these different ideologies presented in each book..