Leviathan – Thomas Hobbes

"The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Hobbes argues that in a 'state of nature', humans are in a constant war of all against all. To escape this chaos, individuals consent to surrender their rights to a sovereign authority (the Leviathan) in exchange for protection and order. He advocates for absolute monarchy as the only guarantee of peace.

Published during the English Civil War, Leviathan is a masterpiece of political philosophy. It introduced the social contract theory, shaping the debate on the legitimacy of government and the nature of human society.