Social Sciences and History / Unit 9 SSH 0832 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau on the State of Nature
Captions available
The idea
Hobbes and Locke imagined a state of nature without government. Hobbes saw a need for an unlimited ruler. Locke saw natural rights, so people would build a government to protect them, property and exchange included; Smith extended that to free trade. Rousseau added the general will.
In practice
Greek thought: virtuous rulers, mixed constitutions.
Where people slip
The social contract's meaning differs by author.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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