4. Hobbes and Locke: the social contract and the Sovereign

• We will study the state of nature theorized by the social contractarians.

• We will identify the points of departure between Thomas Hobbes and John Locke on human nature, morality, social cooperation, civil society, property and the role of the Sovereign.

• We will understand the contractual basis of Sovereign power during Absolutism and beyond.

• Where do we find overlap with Machiavelli?

READINGS

• Sheldon Wolin, Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought. “Hobbes: Political Society as a System of Rules” and “Liberalism and the Decline of Political Philosophy” pages 222-227, 230-232, 235-237, 248-253, 263-265 and 273-280.