An introduction to the critical literature on the classical and social political thinkers Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Essays have been selected to guide students through the texts and to introduce them to scholarly controversies.

This rich collection will introduce students of philosophy and politics to the contemporary critical literature on the classical social contract political thinkers Thomas Hobbes (1599-1697), John Locke (1632-1704), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). A dozen essays and book excerpts have been selected to guide students through the texts and to introduce them to current scholarly controversies surrounding the contractarian political theories of these three thinkers.