In search of the inner drive dominating human motives, Thomas Hobbes and Adam Smith generally agree on the powerful motivation of self-interest. In Leviathan (1651), Hobbes constructs the natural men as individualistic, unfettered power-seeking animals, whose free-operating self-interest would force them to live in a disastrous eternal war. However, this self-centering nature ... The Wealth of Nations as potential solution to the problem of how individuals temper their private desires in light of public interest. First, Hobbes and Smith both recognize the main drive governing human actions: ...

• Word Count: 1845
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , the role of the state in Machiavelli's economy is to keep the people content and to make the state richer. In comparison to Machiavelli, Hobbes defines the role of the state on a social perspective as well. In Leviathan, Hobbes explicitly sets out his moral and political philosophy with regard to human nature, the state of nature and an absolute sovereign in whom the power ... of the people is invested. Like Polanyi, Hobbes finds people to make irrational decisions, especially for sake of self-interest. Men are distinct, he says, in ... as individuals, and in relation to that of other...

• Word Count: 1585
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate