Basic Political Philosophy: Hobbes & Locke

Ideas and Philosophies that have shaped United States Political Thought

In 1776 the Continental Congress tasked Thomas Jefferson to draft all the reasons justifying our decision to declare independence from Great Britain.    Jefferson, consulting with John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman, wrote the Declaration of Independence - a document that both lays out the eternal relationship between Government and the governed as well as detail the specific contemporary failings of King George.  

Jefferson presents an eloquent manifesto about human nature:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

According to Jefferson, while people are different in abilities, skills, and even social station - each are "equal" with the other in that no person has a greater right to life, freedom, or the  ability to seek out and work for their own vision of success.  

Ideology, Politics and Policy

Setting your ideas to sail!  Translating ideas into winning 

elections,  passing legislation, and creating successful 

policies are not the same thing.

There's a big difference between the three.

Before we talk about what core views and values Conservatives share - it will be helpful to understand the distinction between three concepts:  ideology, politics, and policy.  You may find in debates that people point to political statements, positions as a means to call into question conservative ideology.  

Example:  Deficit spending under Republican President George Bush exploded.  George Bush claims to be a Conservative.  Therefore Conservatives do not believe in fiscal discipline (or Conservatives are hypocrites.

Because the intersection between ideology, politics and policy can get messy - it is important to understand the differences between the three.