Human Nature In John Locke's Second Treatise Of Government

Throughout history authors have had opposing views towards human nature. Writers such as John Locke and Karl Marx believe that humans are naturally good and put their trust in human nature. However, writers such as Machiavelli oppose these views and does not put trust in human nature because he believes humans are naturally evil. Locke focuses his writings on human rights, Marx describes the influences of the economy, and Machiavelli details his beliefs of government. Their perceptions of human nature influence their writing and their view of government. John Locke wrote the Second Treatise of Government with the perception that all men are radical. Locke used a philosophical approach in his writing to conclude that all humans are naturally good. He believed that it was possible for man to live between two states, the state of nature and the state of war. Because he perceived man to be naturally good he stated that man would consequently live in that state of nature, “a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons as they see fit,” (Locke 2). Therefore, the state of nature is one where man is left to rule oneself and all men are equal. Locke
Marx believed that all humans were radical and that this directly influenced their organization of government. Similarly, to Locke, Marx classified society into two groups; The Bourgeois and The Proletarians. Marx believed that a ruling class was inevitable, “we find almost everywhere a complicated arrangement of society into various orders, a manifold of gradation of social ranks,” (Marx 9). All though, Marx sees no way to exist without social ranks, he also believes that in this case the bourgeois will join the proletarians in living a good life, “a portion of the bourgeoisie goes over to the proletariat, and in particular, a portion of the bourgeoisie ideologists,” (Marx