Absolutist State? Good Idea?

Today we discussed various philosophers points of view on absolutism. Although they both agreed that the basic "state of nature" of man was not ideal, they have vastly different ideas on how to approach that problem. Louis XIV would have liked Hobbes's ideas. He felt that people need a strong government to basically keep everyone from killing everyone else. Hobbes felt that a ruler was also given power by God, which further added to his authority.

The other philosopher we discussed, Locke, felt that the purpose of government was to rule justly and protect the rights, properties, and lives of men. Locke  believed that a "civil government" was only present when people could appeal to it for just decisions, which was not the case under absolute monarchies. Paradoxically, he felt that men living under an absolute ruler were just as much in a state of nature as those living under monarchy and should throw off an unjust rule. His ideas would go on to strongly influence the fathers of the United States of America and give them justification for their revolt.

Another topic discussed was the Edict of Nantes (continued). Turns out that it was only a temporary grant of religious freedom as Louis XIV decided to do away with it. But why would he do this when the Huguenots did not present a huge political threat and actually were skilled laborers who helped the struggling French economy?  King Louis believed that the Huguenot cities compromised the unity of France and were too independent. As someone striving to be an absolute ruler it would make sense for him to want to do away with unnecessary separations. Additionally, this decision was highly popular and helped to improve his public image, especially among the aristocrats. I imagine Henry IV would not have approved of Louis XIV at all.

Finally, we shall discuss mercantilism, which was advocated Jean-Baptiste Colbert as the best economic strategy. It was based off the idea that economically, everything was pretty much a zero-sum game. This meant that no new money was being added into the system (with the exception of silver and gold coming in from the Americas.) Therefore, one should try to get as much as that money as possible so everyone else gets as little as possible. Basically, sharing = bad. This would be achieved by exporting more than one imported.

The blocks are money, the child is France

For those who need reminding we need to do Question 4 for the Edict of Nantes passage, Questions 3 and 4 for the Bossuet passage, Question 3 on the Colbert passage, Questions 3 and 4 on the Hobbes passage, and Questions 1 through 3 on the Locke passage.