A History of Political Ideas

What do we mean when we talk about the State of Nature debate? What are the differences between political thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau? We will also consider how these beliefs have ‘spilled over’ into other subject areas, such as Sociology, Psychology, Literature and Law, and have shaped the essence of how we think about ourselves. At their core, all ideologies will appeal to some philosophical notion of what a good society should look like (even if only to point out what is wrong with current society). In doing this they will always appeal to philosophical assumptions about ‘human nature’. The goal of this suite of podcasts is to explore these assumptions and how they shape ideologies as well as the policies they advocate. It can be argued that a direct line can be drawn between concepts about the ‘State of Nature’ and policy decisions around key debates in relation to health, welfare and economics.