Compare Machiavelli And Thomas Hobbes

Niccolo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes are important political philosophers of their time. The philosophers share similar negative views on the human nature. These negative views of human nature are reflected in their views of government, politics, and the treatment of citizens. Niccolo Machiavelli was from the 1400 era. He was considered the Father of Political Science. He was born in the city-state of Florence. Machiavelli got is some trouble with the rulers of Florence, The Medici, and was barred from entering the city. As a result of this, he wrote “The Prince” to try to get back into Florence. The Prince presents Machiavelli’s a view of a governing state that in which one Prince is the sole authority. The Prince would determine every aspect …show more content…
He was an atheist and supporter of science. His views of nature are similar with those of Machiavelli. He believed that there was a Law of Self-Interest, in which people were evil and acted in their perceived self-interest. In the State of Nature, people would deny things from their own family in their self-interest. Without states, laws, and orders, life is solitary, poor, nasty, and brutish. He did not believe that people could do good deeds for no rewards, although he believed people had it in them to try to be good. I think that this is a harsh view. Hobbes reasoned that human behavior functioned according to laws. He believed in a social compact, where people would voluntarily create the government to rule them. He presented the solution of a sovereign government that makes, enforces, the laws of his social compact, in which citizens give certain rights in exchange for preservation. The sovereign himself, however, is above the law. This is similar to Machiavelli’s view on The Prince. The Sovereign is the personification of the state. Hobbes believes that the sovereign can’t be too strict or too lenient, but has the power to ban and censor anything, distribute property as they see fit, and declare wars in they want to. Hobbes believes that fear is the best way to rule, that people must be controlled through the sword. This differs from Machiavelli’s beliefs on ruling. Machiavelli believed The Prince should not be just feared, but also loved. However, Machiavelli admits that fear works best for law and order, which is the case here. Hobbes says that a truly free person is one who goes along with the sovereign. However, Hobbes believed that all subjects of a government had the right to overthrow a government that no longer supported them. Hobbes wrote his “Laws of Nature”, which were his recommendations for guidelines for society. The “laws” are as follows; always seek peaceful solutions, lay down