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John Locke
Our "1776 - The Musical" Blog
23 comments:
A classical republic demands that the community work as a single unit; that all personal wants and desires be put aside for the good of the group. On the opposite side of the spectrum are Americans. As Locke has said, the American people are adamant about maintaining their individual natural rights, making sure that they and their loved ones are doing great, and then, and only then, thinking of the community.
So, the Founders used the idea of civic duty to bring the American people together, and yet let them maintain the individuality they had fought so long for. By having the people vote on certain issues and be involved in the government, the Founding Fathers encouraged "public spiritedness" within America. As it is today, people could decide to change a law, for example, and use the leverage provided by their town and state to petition the government into changing it.
i feel that civic virtue in the american republic is shown by the fact that anybody is free to run for office, virtuous or not, and we trust the people to choose the person with virtue or not.
i also feel that we not only have the freedom to vote virtuously, but the responsibility to do so. because if we dont we won't be trying to move foreward in the right direction.
The founding fathers believed that, by giving the people natural rights, they would use their freedom to help the common good. If a person owns property and decides to grow corn on it then that is his right. If that person wants to buy more seed or tools he is going to sell the corn to other people so that he can buy what he wants. As you can see, the farmer is helping himself, but he is also helping the people in society by selling them food.
The Founders of this country molded there government around the idea of a republic, but still allows its citizens there natural rights as a human being. the government can make laws based on what they think is best for the country as a whole, but if the people dont want them or thinks the new laws denies there natural rights they should not have to put up with them. i think this is the best way to avoid a corrupt governmant.
The founders did their best tp merge the idea of civic virtue with the ideas of john locke, the end result is pretty impresive. It would seem at first glance that the two subjects are polar opposites and that merging the two would be impossible, but on closer inspection, I realized that they aren't so different. By helping the community, a citizen can make things better for them self. To do a good deed in the community its not neccesary to do it with the community in mind you could do it thinking of your own agenda.
I like what cap'n seabeard and johnny Kronick are saying. I think civic virtue naturally occurs just by living in a community with other people. It is just something humans are inclined to do when there is progress to be made. I'm going to try to make an analogy here. The natural rights of a society are the bark of a tree. It protects the tree from weather and animals(corruption and mistreatment)The people are the leaves,trunk and roots. They have to work together to produce sugars from the water and sunlight(the natural resources)so the tree can grow taller. People will work together to survive. They may or may not do things because they want to though.
The idea of civic virtue is one that has people set aside their personal interests for the common good. The Founders adapted this idea to the American republic, deeply committed to natural rights, by being able to bring the American citizens together. These people were still allowed their natural rights (life, liberty, and property) while still putting aside their personal interests for the common good. The Founders were able to accomplish this by still allowing people types of individualism, but at the same time, doing what was best for the common good.
Civic Virtue is putting aside your individual intrests a side for the common good. The founding fathers did a good job in merging civic virtue and natural rights together as Johnny Kronick stated. When America was starting out as a new nation everyone had to do what was best for everyone. While making the constitution they probably had to make compromises to make everyone agree on it. The people can do what is best for the common good as long as it doesn't interfere with their right to life, liberty and property.
I like the fact that many people have said that in helping each other you help yourself as well. Evita made a good reference "The natural rights of a society are the bark of a tree". "It protects the tree from weather and animals(corruption and mistreatment)"."The people are the leaves,trunk and roots". "They have to work together to produce sugars from the water and sunlight(the natural resources)so the tree can grow taller". This is true on the outside were protected as a whole but in order to grow we must work together. I feel that realistically if you take a look at the world you must ask yourself are we growing as a whole or just mooching off other people to benefit ourselves.It's true that together we may thrive like a tree but together we may fall as a great tree. Getting back to the question yes the founding fathers did a good job convincing the people that they would prosper greatly together. What the people didn't realize though is that it only takes a few people to mess up something great and turn it around for the worst.
Civic Virtue is when the common people put aside their personal interests and goals and focus solely on the interests of the town or goverment or state as a whole. Many Americans today do not practice civic virtue they only concentrate on making money for themselves and their families without concern of America as a whole. John Locke and our founding fathers got the people involved with civic virtue by having them chose and vote on important issues. This created a feeling of unselfishness. It overall made it easier for the people to become involved in civic virtue.
The idea of civic virtue is when a person sets aside personal interests to promote the common good or what is best for the entire society. This idea conflicts with the Founders' belief in our natural rights: life, liberty, and property; it promotes the common good above the individual rights. So how could they possibly adapt both ideas and mix them into one organized government? James Madison believed that by human nature, people were motivated primarily by self-interest. However, he also beleived that this pursuit of self-interest could in fact in its own way further the common good. People desiring fame and admiration from others would practice civic virtue and the common good could be served by each individual pursuing his or her self-interest. Due to this realization, the adaptation was a sort of compromise. The Founders called this government a republican which limited the government by separation of powers and a system of checks and balances that provided the proper structure to obtain civic virtue, and respect our natural rights.
The founders needed a way to bring everyone together. If they didn't they would have lost the revolutionary war. But being stuck in a group isn't always good so they let the people maintain the idea that they used their natural rights and they did.The founders wanted a way for the people to feel involved so by allowing them to vote it made the common person feel involved in everything going on within the country and how the country was to be run.
The meaning of civic virtue is a group of people, working together, putting all wants and desires aside, to better the community. The founders thought this would be the best way for society to function, but they still wanted the people to have their natural rights. By allowing the people to vote, they still felt involved while working together to better the community.
Civic virtue is when a person puts the needs of other above him or herselfs needs. This is greatly seen in the role of political figures. These people personal choose to run for office, inwhich they vote and lobby for the rights of others. Natural rights is the right to life, liberty and the persuit of happiness. The founding fathers believed that the best was for the citizens of this country to both have civic virtue and still have natural rights is to let people vote. People would vote for what they believed would be prosperous for all citizens not only themselves.
The way the founders thought of adapting group civic virtue to individual natural rights was pretty creative; instead of mashing the ideas together randomly and seeing what stuck, they realized the ideas could supplement each other in their own ways. It is of course idealistic, as sometimes one working for group approval (to benefit oneself) is not always honest with the group, but it's a good idea. In this compromise, it's in the best interest of the individual to help the group, but it's the best interest of the group to aid the individual, so a whole cycle of "what goes around comes around" (in ways) is set into place. While things don't always work out that way even in the compromise, the idea is backed up by checks and balances and the separation of powers so the cycle can't be easily derailed by, say, corruption.
The founding fathers of this nation used two ideas, they used the idea of Natural rights and everyone having those. But when they used these rights, they hoped these people would be using them for good! They wanted a mix of both of them. Where the classical republican starts to look a little almost like communism but the differnce for this country is our natural rights and that turns us completley away from communism!
The idea of civic virtue is that the individuals of a community must become a whole. The idea of natural rights is that the community is broken down into individuals who each have their own natural rights. The newborn American nation was committed to natural rights, but the Founders adapted ideas of civic virtue to the republic as well. The Founders thought that sometimes, an individual's actions based only on what was good for him/her, could benefit others at the same time. If someone built a family store on their land, they would be acting on their natural right to property and most likely doing this so that they could earn a living. This directly benefits the family who built the business, but also benefits the other people in the community. People would be able to buy local goods instead of traveling to buy what they needed. The people who built the store were acting in their own interest, but their actions also helped the common interest, so they could be considered to be acting with the idea of civic virtue in mind. The Founders also thought that there were times when an individual's interest did not help the common good. For instance, someone decides he owns all the land in a ten-mile radius of his house and a family builds on "his land". To protect his right to property and thinking in his own interest, he kills the family. This would benefit the individual because he would get all the land, but it would not be for the common good. The Founders called for governments to put in place laws preventing an individual from completely going against the common good. Therefore civic virtue was a large part of what the founders had in mind for America, but it wasn't written out. They saw that it would be a part of the American republic if people were allowed their natural rights, but in cases where people might go against the common good laws would stop them.
The founding fathers of this country adapted the idea of civic virtue to an American republic deeply committed to natural rights because the idea of civic virtue helped them out, helped the country as a whole out, and still did not take away their natural rights. Civic virtue is just like the old saying, "you have to give a little to get a little". Civic virtue promotes the idea that everyone does things that benefit the community and the country as a whole before they do things that only benefit themselves. Civic virtue is a very effective way to build a successful country. This did not take away the natural rights of the individuals. Something like communism, where the government feels as though you should give a little (of everything you have) to make an even community where no one is greater than anyone else, takes away those naturals rights because it takes away your right to property/possessions. Civic virtue does not take away your possesions, it just encourages that you be a good citizen and think of the country as a whole before yourself, but that does not mean you must give up what you have.
A person with civic virtue is one that is willing to put away all personal interests and needs to promote and benefit the common good. This is a demand for the classic republican government. However, when the Founders of the United State of America came along, some proposed against the classic republic and encouraged that the people be devoted to their own natural rights. The disagreement among many of the Founders led to a compromise: a Democratic Republic. Of the two extremes, a classic republic and a full-out democracy, a between was born, taking ideas from the two and blending them together into more reasonable and agreeable terms. Americans had fought for their own independence from the English for so long and the Founders knew that if they had finally gained it there needed to be changes that would take place; changes that would benefit the Americans as a whole and also the American as an independent.
I agree with charlotte de berry this time. (I probably would agree with Black Lizzy as well, but i dont think she posted yet) I also agree with slappy. Civic virtue is shown in the fact that anyone can run for office. The people are expected to make their own opinions on whether or not they are virtuous. With that privilage comes responsibilty. If we feel that someone isnt virtuous, and would be bad for the people, it is our job NOT to vote for them.
in a democracy, it is some ways the obligation of the voter to pick the official or representative who will do the best job. this goes with the classical republic's idea of the greater good. i disagree with those who say that we are allowed to run completely free though, because most crimes will not be tolerated if that person is running for an office.
The founders adapt the idea of "civic virtue" (putting the common good before your own personal interests) into the American Republic by cmparing the two. It seems they took the common ground between common good and natural rights and explained to people that they can, and will work together. For example, i tis a natural right to be free and by preserving that natural right, we are promoting the common good by helping people realize everyone is equal. In america however, it is more a personal choice for how you behave. It is not required that you participate in helping other people, but we do get small rewards sometimes (and tax breaks) when we donate clothing, or do other "moral" things. It is also a law that we pay taxes. Part of our taxes pay for the people in poverty to eat, have shelter, and have medical services. By encorporating people in need into the budget, we are all helping the common good
The founders adapt the idea of "civic virtue" (putting the common good before your own personal interests) into the American Republic by cmparing the two. It seems they took the common ground between common good and natural rights and explained to people that they can, and will work together. For example, i tis a natural right to be free and by preserving that natural right, we are promoting the common good by helping people realize everyone is equal. In america however, it is more a personal choice for how you behave. It is not required that you participate in helping other people, but we do get small rewards sometimes (and tax breaks) when we donate clothing, or do other "moral" things. It is also a law that we pay taxes. Part of our taxes pay for the people in poverty to eat, have shelter, and have medical services. By encorporating people in need into the budget, we are all helping the common good
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