State and Civil Society in the Political Thought of John Locke and Karl Marx

Subject Areas : علوم سیاسی

Shohreh  Shahryari ¹ (Department of Political Science, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran)
Reza  Shirzadi ² (Department of Political Science, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran)
HosseinAli  Nowzari ³ (Department of Political Science, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran)

Received: 2023-08-16 Accepted : 2023-08-16 Published : 2023-03-01

Keywords: Civil Society, Government, Karl Marx, Social Contract, John Locke,

Abstract :

The position and relationship between the government and the civil society has always occupied the minds of political thinkers, especially in the modern period. In general, governments assume different roles depending on the application of different approaches. From the point of view of the relationship and the type of influence of the government on the society, there have always been two competing views, which are rooted in the thoughts of two prominent political philosophers: John Locke and Karl Marx. In John Locke's view, the government is a mediating entity, limited and conditional, based on the principle of consent and with the aim of creating peace and public welfare based on the social contract and the right of public rebellion in times of inefficiency and disobedience to the law, and ultimately independent of civil society. And in the view of Karl Marx, the concept of government is based on three different opinions. The government as a means of suppressing the working class, the government as an arbiter or mediator, and finally the government as a function of the changing economic infrastructure, and ultimately relying on classes of society.