He's No Locke

Happy birthday, Thomas Hobbes, one of the most important of modern philosophers.

He wrote on a lot of subjects, but is best known for his work on government, in particular, his Leviathan.  To Hobbes, we created civil society to raise us out of a state of nature and avoid the war of all against all. As he famously puts it (this has got to be in the top ten most famous philosophical quotes of all time), the natural state of humanity, if it weren't for government, is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

There is a counterargument that we're born free but are in chains everywhere, but I'd say most agree, in general, with Hobbes.  So we need to make a social contract, and in doing so, give up some of our freedom in letting others rule us.

Where we have trouble with Hobbes is his idea of what sort of power we need to control us.  He felt a sovereign holding all power--essentially an absolute monarch--is the answer.  There are still plenty of dictators around, and millions who long for a strong hand to rule things, but, in general, this sort of leadership is not considered cool any more.

So thanks, Hobbes.  But no thanks.