Question: What's more important, security or freedom? Thomas Hobbes and John Locke would answer the question differently. Hobbes was one of the main advocates of social contract theory. He believed that people ought to willingly give up a certain amount of personal freedom in exchange for an orderly society. As a simple example, consider speed limits on roads. People give up the right to drive as fast as they wish in exchange for a greater degree of safety. In contrast, Locke set forth the view that the state exists to preserve the natural rights of its citizens. By natural rights, Locke meant that these rights apply to all human beings from birth, and that they cannot be given or taken away by the government. The most basic of these natural rights are life, liberty, and property. Locke argued found that when governments fail to preserve the rights of citizens, citizens have not only the right, but the duty, to withdraw their support and even to rebel. Thomas Jefferson famously drew upon Locke's ideas in the Declaration of Independence. So, which philosophy is most like your own? Let's consider this example drawn from real-life events. Need Assignment Help?