In Leviathan, Hobbes begins by stating that human beings naturally desire the power to live well and that they will never be satisfied with the power they have with out acquiring more power. Hobbes also begins by strongly stating the belief of equality, that every one is created equal. He explicitly points out that all individuals have the same ability to kill one another, and hence be killed. Hobbes believed that the nature of humanity leads people to seek power. He looked on the individual as selfish, concerned with self-preservation and when two people want the same thing they become enemies, thus the creation of war. Hobbes uses three basic causes for war, competition, distrust, and glory. In each of the previous c

Rousseau's political philosophy as he believed was that ancient conceptions of human nature were incorrect and a barrier to human happiness. He believed that human beings at birth were born good. What makes them bad is an artificial, corrupt and depraved society. As Rousseau states that if human beings at birth were given freedom from society's corrupt influences, they would grow up to be good, unselfish, righteous and possess all other human virtues.

Locke's view of human nature was a bit more positive, he believes in a certain original equality of all individuals, where everyone had a right to the autonomy and freedom. Locke believes that primitive man existed in a state of nature, which was one of peace, goodwill, mutual assistance and preservation. Locke's key element was his use of natural law in which indefeasible rights were inherent to each individual, and both government and society existed to preserve the individual's rights. He declared that natural law remained effective in civil society as the crucial measure of men's rights. In the state of nature, Locke states that every man has his own duty to respect what is, and the every man must protect his own as best he can. Locke's interpretation of natural law essentially begins and ends with the right of property. Locke believed that property was common in the state of nature in the sense that everyone had the right to draw subsistence from what nature had to offer. His argument was that the right to property arises because by labor of man "extends" his own personality into the ob

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Approximate Word count = 1045
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)