1001Philosophers

Thomas Hobbes vs John Locke vs Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau are the three foundational theorists of the social contract in modern political philosophy. Each derives the legitimacy of political authority from agreements among individuals in a pre-political state of nature, but they reach almost incompatible conclusions about what such an agreement justifies. Their disputes shaped the political vocabulary of the British, American, and French revolutions.

Key differences at a glance

Thomas HobbesJohn LockeJean-Jacques Rousseau
State of nature War of all against all; life solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, short.State of equality and freedom under the natural law.Peaceful self-love; corrupted by society and comparison.
Property Established and secured only by the sovereign's law.Natural right that government exists chiefly to protect.Origin of inequality and a corrupting force in society.
Legitimate sovereign Absolute and irrevocable once granted.Limited and revocable when the trust is violated.The general will of the citizen body itself.
Effect of society Saves humanity from natural war and want.Secures pre-political rights of person and property.Introduces inequality, comparison, and corruption.

Biographical facts

Thomas HobbesJohn LockeJean-Jacques Rousseau
Dates 1588 – 16791632 – 17041712 – 1778
Nationality EnglishEnglishGenevan
Era ModernModernModern
Profile Thomas Hobbes →John Locke →Jean-Jacques Rousseau →

Where they agree

All three rejected the theological grounding of political authority in favor of a rational reconstruction from the consent of the governed, all three treated the state of nature as a thought experiment for analyzing political legitimacy, and all three made the analysis of human passions central to political philosophy.

Where they disagree

The disagreements begin with the state of nature itself. Hobbes's natural condition is a war of all against all in which life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short, and the rational solution is the surrender of nearly all rights to an absolute sovereign. Locke's natural condition is a state of equality and freedom under the natural law, in which property exists prior to government, and the rational solution is a limited government whose authority can be revoked when it violates its trust. Rousseau's natural condition is the peaceful self-loving life of natural humanity, corrupted by the introduction of property and social comparison; the rational solution is the general will of the citizen body itself.

Representative quotes

Thomas Hobbes

  • “The war of all against all.”

    The First Part, Chapter 13, p. 62

  • “Curiosity is the lust of the mind.”

    The First Part, Chapter 6, p. 26

  • “Fear of things invisible is the natural seed of that which everyone in himself calleth religion.”

    The First Part, Chapter 11, p. 51

John Locke

  • “No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.”

    Book II, Ch. 1, sec. 19

  • “All mankind being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

    Second Treatise of Government , Ch. II, sec. 6

  • “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”

    Second Treatise of Government , Ch. VI, sec. 57

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  • “Let's go dance under the elms: Step lively, young lassies. Let's go dance under the elms: Gallants, take up your pipes.”

    Le devin du village (1752)

  • “Le devin du village (1752)”

    Let's go dance under the elms: Step lively, young lassies. Let's go dance under the elms: Gallants, take up your pipes.

  • “All that time is lost which might be better employed.”

    As quoted in A Dictionary of Quotations in Most Frequent Use: Taken Chiefly from the Latin and French, but comprising many from the Greek, Spanish, and Italian Languages, translated into English (1809) by David Evans Macdonnel

Pairwise comparisons

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