Unit 2 Reflection

   

     There are many ties between a person and his government.  The United States government, based on elements of liberty and justice, has sustained a stable and developed country with the help of individuals bold enough to suggest change.  The philosophers of our past: Machiavelli, Rousseau, Locke and Plato wrote and expressed many ideas on government, people and their obligations to each other that have undoubtedly shaped how society functions today.  Their defiant beliefs suggest the obligations government holds to an individual as well as the obligations an individual has to their government. 
     An individual’s obligations to society revolves around being a leader in order to question or challenge the way the government runs.  Rousseau describes a Sovereign defined as citizens collectively working together.  They voice the general will or interests of the people.  It is their duty to speak out against problems in the government so that a better society can be formed.   John Locke alludes to the need for people to follow rules and laws, even if it means giving up freedoms because in return, the government will protect them.  Locke, similarly to Rousseau believed that if the government was abusing power, it is the duty of an individual to rebel against it and replace it with another government.  Locke saw tyranny as "the exercise of power beyond right.” A leader that follows his own rules is one that no longer truly benefits the community with his influence.  Therefore, an individual must join with others to rebel and reform.  Plato’s Allegory of the Cave represented misconceptions of reality.  Prisoners in a cave see shadows on the wall, of which they perceive to be real. Once one prisoner climbs out of the cave and sees the sun, he sees the things that are creating the shadows and realizes what it real and true. Upon return to the cave, it is his responsibility be a leader, as he can see better than the rest: “you have been better and more thoroughly educated than those others and hence you are more capable of playing your part both as men of thought and as men of action."  How one understands what he sees is an important qualification for being a leader.  Therefore, it is important for an individual to lend his opinions, ideas and the ways he sees things to the government because it is always necessary to change and improve.
     The government’s duty to an individual requires that power be used to create a stable environment.  Machiavelli in The Qualities of a Good Prince very thoroughly describes the obligations a  man of authority and power must fulfill in order to be an effective leader.  Machiavelli  believed that a Prince must avoid being hated in order to maintain power.  He warns princes against doing things detrimental to their image such as taking possession of a person’s land or  the disbanding of his people’s traditions.   It is a prince’s duty to understand when war is necessary and be aware of when there are threats of invasion.  He must rely on bravery  and his own natural abilities rather than money or luck to succeed against challenges or opposition.   Machiavelli states, “people are by nature changeable. It is easy to persuade them about some particular matter, but it is hard to hold them to that persuasion” however, if an authority is willing to force an idea to gain the support of his people, he will almost always be successful.  Machiavelli did not write about being a fair leader; he believed in finding short cuts to secure power.  The ideals of this prince parallels the government.  A government’s obligation to an individual revolves around protection, security and building a strong and stable society. However, the ways in which you achieve those results, are not always be honorable.  Acquiring the “goodwill” of the people does not necessarily mean ruling over a people that are all happy.  The obligation of a government to an individual is to simply maintain  status quo.
         Though Machiavelli believed that people are bad by nature, I disagree.  Though desires often bind us and influence decisions, people are honorable.  Though self interest has thrown society into times of war and destruction, courage and the ability to progress, has landed our country in a stable place.  Philosophers in the past and people even today can argue that humans are lazy or the government is corrupt, but everything is relative. The pattern has been set and history will likely  repeat itself; a person's obligations to society might change or maybe they won't.  I wonder, if these philosopher's words will be taught in classrooms 500 years from now.  Will we use their ideas to question our own roles in society?  Or maybe everything eventually becomes obsolete.