What are the major differences between the natural rights philosophy and classical republicanism?

Answer

The major differences between classical republicanism and John Locke's natural rights are philosophy are that classical republicanism stresses the "common" good or community over the natural rights stress of the individual.

You look at the natural rights philosophy from what Locke would describe as a "state of nature," that is, an imaginary situation where there is no government. Lock believed that there was a law of nture to govern a state of nature; he stated, "The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it which obliges everyone...No one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions."

The main idealogies of the natural rights philosophy are found in the Declaration of Independence with such ideals as consent of the governed, right of revolution, unalienable rights (or rights that cannot be taken away or given up, such as life liberty and property), and overall establishes a social contract.

Classical republicanism is modeled after the Roman Republic, where te government provides its citizens with liberty under government and stressed the common good, or what was best for the society as a whole. Citizens within a republic must share the same characteristics: civic virtue, moral education, and live in small, uniform communities.

Civic virtue is demonstrated when a person sets aside their own personal interests to promote the common good, and thus classical republics often drastically limited individual rights. Moral education is the idea that citizens must be taught to be virtuous based on civic religion; these virtues included generosity, courage, self-control, and fairness. Small, uniform communities were necessary to prevent factions (self-interested groups of individuals), and to prevent this, limited the degree of diversity within these communities. People residing within these communities often had similar wealth, religious or moral beliefs, and ways of life. To further prevent diversity, each community has an established religion (which is prohibited in our Constitution per Amendement 1).

First answer by RoyR. Last edit by RoyR. Contributor trust: 4829 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 179 [recommend question].