y forgo their state in nature in order to construct and artificial environment (society). They do this because when everyone submits to the same authority, conflict diminishes between individuals. People submit their will in nature to the will of an agreed upon ruler. This, in turn, loses them freedom but grants them self-preservation. The Sovereign power works to maintain harmony among people and to protect them from outside attack. Hobbes’ experiences with war and Revolution filled him with a desire to find a peaceful and stable form of government. This is why he argues that the state of nature which is constant war should cause us to divest ourselves of certain rights in the natural state to achieve peace: “That a person be willing, when others are so too, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other people, as he would allow other people against himself” (382).
John Locke’s views stand in contrast to those of
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