John Locke is one of the most important contributors to English and... even American political philosophy- also Hobbes' big rival. He was one of the most famous thinkers in the Enlightenment movement. So, what did this guy do? Let's find out!
Oh, yeah. He's the blank slate dude but I'll talk about that later... right? The way this empirical school applies to politics is somewhat important. If everyone is born a blank slate, then all men are created equal thus everyone should have a say in what happens to them and others. So, Locke was a fan of democracy. Dare I say he was the father of MODERN democracy.
Locke was made a name when he proposed the controversial idea that people shouldn't be persecuted for their religious beliefs, and several other inalienable rights. In fact, Locke was such a fan of rights that he said that everyone is entitled to Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness (sound familiar?) and that everyone deserves a chance to speak in their government. This idea of a democracy became the backbone for America, even.
This was strongly opposed by Hobbes, who said that since everyone acts in their own self interest this society of everyone having a say in the government would eventually degrade into stab-in-the-back fests, and that it would never work. Instead, there should be an absolute ruler (IE Leviathan) that of course would never abuse his powers.
Locke responded that yes, a state of nature is bad and that if it were to exist an absolute ruler would arise, but such a society would be corrupt as all get out. See Machiavelli as to why Princes suck. So, Locke came up with a system where this democratic power is separated into schools where judicial, religious and executive powers are all split so if a person commits a crime he theoretically wouldn't get away with it.
Locke also had stuff to say about laws in general. The nature of laws should not be to restrict liberties, rather, to enhance and protect them. Since he was a firm believer in the Rights, his stance was that if a law does not protect, enhance, or promote rights, then the laws should not exist. This contrasts Hobbes, who believed that an absolute ruler should basically micromanage everyone in order to keep them safe, or Machiavelli who thought that laws should only secure the rule of his Prince.
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