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Essay / John Locke vs. Karl Marx - 1243
Two of the most influential and famous modern political thinkers, Karl Marx and John Locke, presented countless insightful and convincing arguments, expressing their ideas on various conditions of individual, state and society. the interactions between the two. Marx was a German political thinker best known for his work on the idea of communism and social class divisions. Locke was an English philosopher famous for his social contract and is known as the father of liberalism (CITE). Despite the considerable success these men achieved, they had radically different views on the idea of property and the description of freedom, finding only minimal similarities in their views on the right to revolt. The concept of ownership has developed many different perspectives over the years. political philosophers continually sought to find their rightful role in society. Among these perspectives, John Locke and Karl Marx had perhaps developed the most combative and different views. In Locke's Second Treatise on Government, he explains that private property is a natural right of all men and that protecting this right should be a top priority of government. In fact, one of Locke's most influential quotes states that all men have the right to "life, liberty, and property." (CITE) This later became the basis for some concepts used by the founding fathers of the United States. In Locke's eyes, “labor being the incontestable property of the worker, no one but he can have any right to that to which he is once joined” (Locke in Cahn 457). This means that when a man plows a garden, the garden is annexed to his possession according to his work, and all the fruits or flowers that come from that garden belong to him. In the middle of the paper. .....ed the idea of the division between private and public domains seen today. Furthermore, Locke's evolving description and interpretation of liberty set the tone for the concept of tacit consent to be governed, while simultaneously protecting the unrestricted lives of the people and the absence of absolute power in any political institution. Moreover, his perspective on the right to revolution had a more realistic and practical approach than Marx's opinion on the revolution of the proletariat, which never really happened. Therefore, John Locke's assessment was superior and more compelling in explaining a fundamental relationship between the people and the state. Works Cited Cahn, Steven M. Classics of Political and Moral Philosophy. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print. Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. German ideology. New York: International, 1972. Print.