“Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes is a foundational text in political philosophy,

“Leviathan,” written by Thomas Hobbes in 1651, is a foundational text in political philosophy and social contract theory. Hobbes presents a view of human nature that is fundamentally pessimistic, arguing that in a state of nature, individuals act out of self-interest, leading to a chaotic and violent existence where life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”