Rousseau and Marx regarding human nature

In the history of the western intellectual tradition, a simple (though not simplistic) way of seeing philosophers of social thought is to place them in one of two categories: realism or idealism. Depending on what category they best fit in, one can draw conclusions about their respective theories of human nature, which in turn influences their whole philosophical project's ends. The four philosophers covered in this seminar all have distinct theories of human nature, and while reading and thinking about them, it was helpful for me to ask the following questions: What is the basic view of human nature of the philosopher? (i.e. is man basically cooperative and nonviolent or is he basically at his core an aggressor and selfish), Does he think human nature can be changed? and If it can be changed (or if it is perfectable), does the change come voluntarily or through coercion?

First, I define my terms. By "realism" I mean the trajectory of thought in the western intellectual and philosophical tradition that emphasizes the here-and-now, and posits that there is not an ideal image or way of doing things to which we must conform our agend

Marx's critique of capitalism and his solution of communism starts at the same place as Rousseau - that we live in a corrupt society and are plagued by problems and challenges that the modern world presents. Marx, like Rousseau, has a basically positive view of human nature, and his theory of the natural state of man being one of cooperation can be seen in the same line as Rousseau's. Marx, like Rousseau, has three states of man. The first of these categories of man is like Rousseau's "natural man" in a state of natural society. The same holds for the second category, much like Rousseau's modern man who is alienated because of economic inequality (though Marx adds to and tweaks this part of Rousseau to emphasize economic and not social inequality, still blaming private property even if not fully). The third category is Marx's fulfilled man in the communist society. Like Rousseau, he sees private property and its acquisition as the major problem.

By contrast, Montesqieu's theory of human nature is largely relativistic, humanistic and especially realist in its scope. In his Persian Letters, he sets out to show his opinions on his world, from the outside. By seeming to see the his world from the outside looking in, he forces his contemporary reader to at once develop a sense of self-consciousness, and to show that there is no one way of doing things, but rather a multitude of options. His "comparative culture" approach denies that there is an absolute, either morally or politically. His demonstration of viable alternatives flies in the face of the idealisms that say with emphasis that there is only one path, one true political system, one best way of behaving. Examples of this include his description of the Persian sexual mores in letter 20 and the letters concerning marriage and harems, and the letters discussing politics and subtly critiquing the France of his day,

My response to his theory of human nature is twofold. (1) Contrary to Rousseau's theories, new knowledge about the nature of man in the wild (from ethologists like Conrad Lorenz or Lionel Tiger Men in Groups) provides evidence that man in his basic nature is an aggressor. This evidence is powerfully explanatory of many of our social ills, asserting that homo sapiens has a will to dominate and achieve an ever increasing standing in the social hierarchy, and that this factor and not the mere possession of private property, is largely responsible for inequality. Rousseau seems to think that politics alone is enough to change human nature - that the government can legislate away the equ

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Approximate Word count = 1739
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)