Hobbes and Rousseau

Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed theories on human nature and how men govern themselves. With the passing of time, political views on the philosophy of government gradually changed. Despite their differences, Hobbes and Rousseau, both became two of the most influential political theorists in the world. Their ideas and philosophies spread all over the world influencing the creation of many new governments. These theorists all recognize that people develop a social contract within their society, but have differing views on what exactly the social contract is and how it is established. By way of the differing versions of the social contract Hobbes and Rousseau agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered for a society's protection and emphasizing the government's definite responsibilities to its citizens.

Each political theorist agrees that before men came to govern themselves, they all existed in a state of nature. The state of nature is the condition men were in before political government came into existence, and what society would be if there was no government. In relation to this the two theorists raised as much praise as criticism for their famous masterpieces. Hobbes and Rousseau created a revolutionary idea of the state of nature. They did not believe government should be organized through the church, therefore abandoning the idea of the divine right theory, where power of the king came directly from God. Starting from a clean slate, with no organized church, Hobbes and Rousseau needed a construct on what to build society on. The foundation of society began with the original state of nature. Hobbes' perception of the original state of nature is what would exist if there were no common power to execute and enforce the laws to restrain individuals. In this case, the laws of the jungle would prevail: only the fittest survive. Man's desires are insatiable. Since resources are scarce, humankind is naturally competitive, inevitably creating jealousy and hatred, which eventually leads to war.

The constant state of war is what Hobbes believes to be man's original state of nature. According to Hobbes, man cannot be trusted in the state of nature. War among men is consequent and nothing can be unjust. Notions of justice and injustice or right and wrong will not have a place in a society. Hobbes states that if there is no common power or law "force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues" that will result (Leviathan, 409). Limits must be put on freedom and inalienable rights. Hobbes lived in the 17th century, and wrote during the time of the English Civil War. His political views were most likely influenced by the war. Hobbes perceived that by bringing back the monarch, or any other sovereign, there would be an end to the civil war and is "necessary to peace and depending on sovereign power" (415). The original state of nature, according to Rousseau, is the perfect state for man, where he is born free but is everywhere in chains (The Social Contract, 49). In the original state, man lives alone in innocence where he is virtuous. Rousseau does not agree that man is an aggressive and greedy being in the original state of nature; in contrast, the life of man is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" as Hobbes suggests (Leviathan, 408). Rousseau argues that men are truly happy in the state of nature. Only when men become sociable, they become wicked. In Rousseau's Social Contract, man is depicted as an ignorant, unimaginative animal.

Man has no reason or conscience when in contact with others. Possessions begin to be claimed, but the inequality of skill lead to inequality of fortunes. The idea of claiming possessions excites men's passions, which provoke conflict and leads to war. Rousseau believes men are not perfect in their original state, but have the ability to live in a more perfect society with guidance of laws. This leads to the theory of institutionalizing a General Will, or what all possess that is common. Within the social pact, the body politics consists of an absolute power over its members. This absolute power "which, directed under the General Will, bears the name of sovereignty" (The Social Contract, 74). Rousseau has the impression that if people believe they are part of the government, they will work, fight, and build, without complaining about the belief that what helps the good of all people is going to be beneficial to them.

Rousseau was self-educated and based some of his theories on Hobbes and John Locke (28). In relation, the preservation of mankind is the law of nature established by the two political theorists: Hobbes and Rousseau. In order to abide by this law of nature, man enters into an agreement, forming the social contract. The social contract is a theory that views the foundation of morality being founded solely on uniform social agreements that serve the best interests of those who make the agreement. It is an agreement by which men are said to have abandoned the "state of nature" in order to form the society in which they now live. Hobbes believes that people surrender their natural rights and submit to the absolute authority of a sovereign, who attained power through the collective submission of the people. Even though the power of the sovereign is accumulated from the people, the sovereign has absolute power. Similar to a mortal god on earth, this great Leviathan, or sovereign, will provide order, rules an protection of man (Leviathan, 413). Rousseau, on the other hand, believes people should enter into a social contract where the individual must give up personal freedom to the general will, which is the sum of all private interests of the general people. Rousseau agrees with another political philosopher, John Locke, in the sense that the government should be democratic, and he agrees with Hobbes that it should be absolute (The Social Contract, 26). This supports that although there are many differences, there can be many similarities between the two theorists.

Men are conditionally in competition for honor and dignity, according to Hobbes. Envy and hatred arise, eventually causing war. With this view that humans are motivated only by selfish interests, Hobbes argues that people are better off living in a world with moral rules than without. Rules ensure the safety of everyone's property. Rousseau, on the other hand, believes that only possession exists in a state of nature. Property is acknowledged only when laws are made and abided by. In Rousseau's social contract, people convert their liberty from independence in the original state, into political and moral freedom. Rousseau does not agree with Hobbes's belief that war prevails among men in the state of nature because of pride, but says that war is a product of conflicts about property. Since