Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were political philosophers who lived during the 17th century. Their ideas have had a huge impact on Western society, including the United States.
Hobbes believed that humans are innately selfish and that government is needed to protect us from each other. John Locke believed that humans are innately good and that government is needed to protect us from tyranny.
In fact, Hobbes was born in England in 1588 and died in 1679 during the English Civil War. He was a Royalist, which meant he supported King Charles I against Parliament during the war. He famously wrote in Leviathan that life in the state of nature was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.” Locke said that humans in their natural state were free, equal and independent, but only if they lived in a small community where everyone knew each other well enough to trust each other not to harm one another.
Locke was born in England in 1632 and died there in 1704. Unlike Hobbes, he was not involved directly in politics but wrote extensively about it instead, arguing against absolute monarchy and in favor of limited government based on natural rights rather than divine right or tradition. Locke thought that kings should be chosen by their subjects because otherwise they can become despots who rule arbitrarily over their people.
