Social and Moral Policies of Government
Website icon Academic Honesty & APA Style and Formatting.
Website icon Academic Integrity and Honesty.
Website icon Academic Integrity and Plagiarism.
Website icon APA Style and Format.
Website icon Capella Writing Center.
Website icon PHI2000 Library Guide.
Website icon Plagiarism.
Website icon RefWorks.
Website icon Stages of Writing.
Website icon Turnitin.
Website icon Writing Feedback Tool.
Website icon Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Avoid It.
Website icon Contractarianism.
Website icon Hobbes’s Moral and Political Philosophy.
Website icon Jean Jacques Rousseau.
Website icon John Rawls.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
Competency 1. Explain the nature of ethical issues.
Explain the ethical basis for the relation of individuals to their governments.
Competency 2: Critically examine the contributions of key thinkers from the history of ethics.
Describe the social contract theories of Hobbes and Rousseau.
Competency 3: Engage in an ethical debate.
Assess the advantages and disadvantages of differing approaches to political theory.
Competency 4: Develop a position on a contemporary ethical issue.
Apply traditional social contract theories to contemporary political life.
Competency 5: Communicate effectively in the context of personal and professional moral discourse.
Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations.
The theme for your third assignment is social and moral policies of government. You will choose to view one of the movies: The Grapes of Wrath, Thelma & Louise, or Hotel Rwanda, or another movie that has been approved by your instructor. You will then interpret the movie and relate one of two of the movie’s characters to the philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques Rousseau. You will relate your character selections to:
Hobbes’s theory of the state of nature and government as an artificial creation.
Rousseau’s notion of government and society as inhibitors of our natural freedoms.
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes lived from 1588 to 1679, and his best known work is called Leviathan. The word Leviathan means an artificially created animal. So it is with government, according to Hobbes: it is not part of the natural world, but had to be instituted by human beings for their mutual protection. We are savage, selfish, and predatory by nature, Hobbes believed, so a strong central government is the only guarantee of peace and security. The state of nature was a war of all against all. To escape it, we appoint the strongest among us to be sovereign and to enforce peace and safety at all costs. Hobbes believed in a strong central government with the power to ensure peace by establishing rules and punish rule-breakers. In your character selection, analyze the relationship between government and its citizens. Is the social theory of Hobbes a positive or a negative influence on their lives?
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Jean Jacques Rousseau was a Swiss thinker who lived from 1712 to 1778. One of his most famous books began with the declaration, “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau, 1762). Like Hobbes, Rousseau pursued a social contract theory, according to which there is an implicit contract between the citizens of the state and the state itself. But according to Rousseau, the contract can be broken and a new one instituted. Thus, we retain control, and it is our responsibility to create a government that supports justice. For Rousseau, unlike Hobbes, government and society become a problem by creating artificial rules and regulations that hinder our free, natural, and uninhibited moral development. In your character selection, consider what social obligations legitimately bind and obligate citizens to the state. What is the responsibility of government to its citizens—and, what is the responsibility of individuals to their governments? How do your characters reflect Rousseau’s view of government as the guarantor of peace and security and of the social obligation of government to its citizens? How have your characters removed the chains of social convention and government imposition?
Note: You are expected to use a minimum of three citations from your readings, Web resources, and the Capella library. Refer to the Social and Moral Policies of Government Scoring Guide to ensure that you meet the grading criteria for this assessment.
Assignment Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
Length of paper: Approximately 950 words.
Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Resources and citations should be formatted according to APA sixth edition style and formatting.
Font and font size: Arial, 12-point, double-spaced. Use Microsoft Word.
Number of resources: Cite a minimum of three resources.
Turnitin: Before turning in your paper, you must submit a copy to Turnitin, checking for the appropriate use of the resources upon which you rely.
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