Comparison: Hobbes vs. Locke vs. Rousseau

<table> <thead> <tr> <th>Thinker</th> <th>State of nature</th> <th>Purpose of govt</th> <th>Best government</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>Hobbes</td> <td>"Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Constant war of all against all.</td> <td>To provide security by holding absolute power.</td> <td>Absolute monarchy.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table> <tr> <th>Thinker</th> <th>State of nature</th> <th>Purpose of govt</th> <th>Best government</th> </tr> <tr> <td>Locke</td> <td>Generally peaceful, but lacks impartial enforcement of rights.</td> <td>To protect natural rights (life, liberty, property).</td> <td>Limited representative government with right of revolution.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Rousseau</td> <td>Free and equal, but corrupted by society and private property.</td> <td>To express the general will of the people.</td> <td>Direct democracy reflecting the general will.</td> </tr> </table>