Thomas Hobbes was an English scholar and philosopher. He was born in
1588 and later became a tutor to a very wealthy family. Hobbes was one
of many scholars who tried to answer the question, “Why do we have government?”
He was one of the first of his era to discuss the idea of a social contract
between people and their government. A contract is an agreement in
which both sides agree to something in order to reach a shared goal.
In Hobbes’ view, people agreed to give up some rights and power in exchange for protection. But for Hobbes, the social contract was no two-way street. He believed that once the people agreed to hand over power in exchange for protection, they lost the right to overthrow, replace, or even question the government. Hobbes saw humans as naturally selfish and quick to fight. He believed in a monarchy led by a king. That’s because he thought that government would work best if
all the power rested in one place. No three branches for Hobbes!
Many political thinkers—including America’s Founding Fathers—built on
Hobbes’ ideas, especially the idea of a social contract. Hobbes was more
concerned with protection and order than rights. But people like John
Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau changed the focus from monarchy to
democracy—power with the people instead of a sovereign. They began to
see that people have rights that must be protected even from government.

1. Which best describes the central idea of this text?
Responses

Hobbes believed that the best form of government is Presidency rather than monarchy.
Hobbes believed that the best form of government is Presidency rather than monarchy.

Government control on protection and order is more important than rights.
Government control on protection and order is more important than rights.

Hobbes believed that when people give up their rights they cannot the government.
Hobbes believed that when people give up their rights they cannot the government.

Hobbes view that people agreed to give up their rights for protection from the government.