Political Science

Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all used social contract theory to answer one of the biggest questions in political thought: Why should people accept government at all?

Rousseau argued that human beings are not naturally corrupted at the beginning. Instead, he believed that society often plays a major role in corrupting them. This led him to ask a powerful question: are humans naturally good, and if so, what has gone wrong?

Montesquieu was considered a pioneer in comparing Christianity and Islam in a secular way. Instead of arguing about which faith was correct, he compared them to show how they functioned as social tools within different cultures. In his famous Persian Letters (1721), he used fictional Muslim travelers to point out striking similarities between Christianity and Islam, such as comparing Christian baptism to the Muslim ritual washing.

John Locke is best known for his Two Treatises of Government. In that work, he also described a state of nature, but unlike Hobbes, he did not see it as a condition of total war.

Hobbes wrote during a period of major political turmoil in England, including the English Civil War. Seeing violence, instability, and struggles for power helped shape his view of human nature and political life. He was deeply concerned with disorder and believed that peace could not be taken for granted.

Machiavelli lived during a time of political instability in Italy, when city-states faced corruption, foreign invasion, shifting alliances, and constant power struggles. In that environment, political failure could mean exile, conquest, or death. This shaped his view of politics as a dangerous and unstable arena where idealism alone was not enough.

Aquinas is important because he argues that politics should be guided by reason and moral truth, not just force, fear, or personal opinion. He believed that although human beings are imperfect, they are still capable of recognizing important moral truths through reason.

Augustine lived during the decline of the Roman Empire, a time of political instability, violence, and uncertainty. In that context, he asked a different question: what can politics really accomplish in a broken world?

Aristotle is often called the first political scientist. He was a student of Plato, but he did not approach politics in the same way.

Plato was deeply shaped by the political instability of Athens and by the execution of Socrates. He saw that democracies could be swayed by emotion, flattery, and shallow thinking. This led him to doubt whether politics should be left in the hands of the crowd.