Free Research Paper on John Locke
Influence of John Locke on the American Founding Fathers
Today, the American state is considered one of the most positive examples of democracy in the whole world. American citizens can boast of high quality of life, economic and social well being, human rights protection, political freedom, and many other benefits resulting from advanced democratic development. Furthermore, the United States of America play the role of the main promoter and safe-guard of democratic ideology in the modern society worldwide. This state of things is, of course, a result of a consistent work of whole generations, but one can not ignore the importance of the historical roots of the USA’s ideology and political origins, which go back to the eighteenth century, the era of Enlightenment. Steven Dworetz, a famous political expert of nowadays, stressed the importance of examination of the political ideas that influenced the country’s founding. In his work “The Unvarnished Doctrine: Locke, Liberalism, and the American Revolution” he mentioned that “…a society’s understanding of its founding doctrine is an integral part of its self-consciousness and the ultimate source of its sense of purpose and normative vision (Dworetz, 1990).” According to the author, the ideology of the founding of a particular state influences dramatically the standards by which citizens evaluate contemporary events of social and political life. The ideology of the state’s origin is a fundament for the further development, and, in many cases, it defines which direction the political development of a country will take and how far will it be able to progress. Another researcher, George Mace, follows with a suggestion that the political philosophy is the quest for an understanding of political phenomena. According to Mace, “…an understanding of the nature of the American political heritage lies in the examination of the political ideas, concepts, and institutions handed down from the past and from American ancestors… (“Locke, Hobbes, and the Federalist Papers”, 1979).” Therefore, such activities as research, interpretation, and critique taken in regard to the founding ideology are of great significance for the society because these are the ways state can foster its political growth and escape the destiny of the theocratic and totalitarian regimes, which, due to their policy of political conservation and ideological censure, came to obsoleteness, decay, and aggression aimed at own citizens and at external political entities. Thus, the survey of beliefs and ideas of the founders of the American state is important not only for securing the ideological liberty and understanding the historical development of American political system, but also for defining the possible ways of future advance. Continue reading →
