Hobbes is Un-Locke(d)

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two of the most well-known social contract theorists in history as their influences can still be felt in the modern world. However, as much as I wish humans were naturally good, I would have to say that overall, Hobbes depicts humans better than Locke.

One of the main points made by Hobbes is how society could not exist without a government. One could say that a collection of people with similar goals or beliefs is a society. While this could be true, I would say that this definition would fit the term of community better. For example, a group of farmers would be a community of farmers, rather than a society of farmers. If there was a ruler or a commanding group in charge of the farmers, then they could be considered a society of farmers. In the modern world, there are hundreds of communities that fill societies. One that stands out the most is the LGBT community for their current progress in the 21st century. However, they do not have a central leader or any form of government, so they are called a community.

Another point brought up by Hobbes is the idea that rulers decide what is right and what is wrong. If a society has a ruler that decides that eating the corpses of the deceased is the right thing to do, then you shouldn't be too surprised when you see a funeral procession end in a cannibalistic banquet. Looking at our own society in the United States, the government states that gays can marry each other. However, in other societies, such as some found in the middle east, homosexuals are seen as criminals. This difference in morals are a result of each society's government. Therefore, governments control the morals of society.

To finish on a dark note, Hobbes believes that humans lose any kind of natural rights to the government. If a natural human right conflicts with a government right, the government right will win every time in the eyes of the ruler. For example, if the right to live is a natural human right but the government has a right that if you commit a serious crime then that person must die, then the government will overpower that natural human right. Despite John Locke's belief that all humans have the right to "life", the death penalty exists in modern America. The fact that a theory created by Locke is made inapplicable by a theory created by Hobbes proves how Hobbes is more accurate on human nature.