Hobbes and Rousseau

Hobbes

Hobbes did not hold his fellow man to a very high standard. According to Hobbes we naturally cause controversy in life through our competitiveness, our pride and the way we mistrust our fellow man.(Hobbes p.185) Therefore war is "necessarily consequent... to the naturall Passions of men, when there is no visible Power to keep them in awe, and tye them by feare." (Hobbes p.223) This form of power would be the way we could protect ourselves from harm caused by one another and or by foreigners. (Hobbes p.227) To protect ourselves from harm through the compromise of freedom are all part of the the laws of nature. (notes) In Hobbes' view we really do want to trust our fellow neighbor and live by the Laws of nature "Justice, Equity, Modesty, Mercy," (Hobbes p.223) but are unable to do so without the help of the all mighty Leviathan. This is why everyone would willfully give him authority, power and strength and "that by terror thereof, he is inabled to forme the willd of them all, to Peace at home and mutuall ayd against their enemies abroad." (Hobbes p.227-228)

Rousseau

In Rousseau's, more positive, view point men are not so evil by nature as some may think. We are actually born free, free from desires. In the State of Nature we are like other animals, the difference now is that we have been socialized and other animals have not. If we would not have been socialized then the bare basics of food, a mate and rest would be all that we would need and have. (notes) And so, naturally, family is "the most ancient of all societies, and the only one that is natural."(Rousseau p.166) Eventually however, some challenge may occur where man needs to unite in order to persist. We are then forced to unite families and form societies to survive. This is where we begin to socialize, we teach and learn languages and we also learn about the various functions in society. Then as society grows more complex men see that some have more then others and that there are social inequalities. As a way to face this challenge governments are formed as a source of protection. (notes)

In man's created society government, law and war are all social institutions. War is therefore, according to Rousseau, not a natural phenomenon but man made as an outcome of envy. We learned war through the creation of society. (notes) As a solution, Rousseau provides the social contract. The social contract allows a form of association to defend and to protect by fellow men being able to willfully unite while remaining free. (Rousseau p.174)

Rousseau's Critique

Hobbe's notion of the strongest being the ruler is something that Rousseau strongly disagreed with. Rousseau argued "The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master, unless he transforms strength into right, and obedience into duty." (Rousseau p.168) He sees strength as a physical power and so for men to obey to a sense of force could actually be seen as a necessity and not duty. Men don't willfully obey to strength, they do it because it is necessary to not face consequences. Rousseau says it best