The Pursuit of A Happy Government - Jadyn Cleary

The philosophical theories of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau played an instrumental role in the creation of the US government. Hobbes believed that the best form of government would be an absolute monarchy with a king who would make all of the decisions on behalf of the kingdom no matter what. Although this belief is not in line with the US government, Hobbes’ belief that the king should do all he can to reign fairly (this is the social contract) is a value that many Americans have. Locke provided much more concrete ideas and language than Hobbes that are present in some of America’s oldest documents. Locke believed that all people were created equal and had the right to “life, liberty, and property.” This language is similar to the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” found in the US Declaration of Independence. Locke’s philosophy stated that if the government failed to uphold the social contract, the citizens had the right to revolt. Rousseau was much more pro total democracy than both Hobbes and Locke. Rousseau believed that rather than relying on a sovereign or an elected official to make all of the decisions for the citizens, the citizens themselves should make all of the decisions and that their social contract was to each other. 
Hobbes’ philosophy places the sovereignty on a single ruler with all power who gets his legitimacy from God. Locke stated that although the sovereign should have the power to make decisions for its country, the citizens should have the power to overthrow him if they found him to be illegitimate. Rousseau believed that there should be no sovereign, the people should have equal power, and if anyone went against the collective will, they would lose their legitimacy. Both Hobbes and Locke believed that governments and their citizens are interdependent. Rousseau thought that it is human to not be interdependent.
In a perfect world, I think the ideal government would be a democracy with elected officials who carry out the will of the people. Much like the way the US government works today, there will be elections for representatives and laws. An important aspect of my government is that it could not be too inflated or govern too many people. If too much land or too many people are under the jurisdiction of one ruling body, it is nearly impossible to uphold the common will. Governing too many things is a problem in many modern and past societies. The US, for example, had this issue but it is able to still be an effective government because it has federal and state law. Although the US’s method of governing works, I believe that a government that would be most effective is one that only has federal law and is about as small as an American state.

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