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Why did Locke consider political authority more limited than Hobbes did?

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The Greek philosopher Plato — Philosophy of law Plato, marble portrait bust copied from an original of the 4th century bce; in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.

John Locke and Thomas Hobbes held differing views on the scope of political authority because they fundamentally disagreed on the nature of the state of nature and the purpose of the social contract.

For Hobbes, the state of nature was a chaotic "war of all against all" where life was "nasty, brutish, and short." To escape this, individuals surrendered their liberty to an absolute sovereign whose primary duty was to ensure collective security. Because the sovereign’s power was necessary to prevent a return to anarchy, Hobbes argued that this authority must be absolute and undivided.123

In contrast, Locke viewed the state of nature as a condition where individuals were already bound by the law of nature to respect the rights of others, including life, liberty, and property. For Locke, the social contract was not a surrender of rights but a conditional agreement to create an impartial authority to arbitrate disputes and protect these pre-existing natural rights. Consequently, Locke’s political authority is inherently limited: it must operate through declared laws for the public good, and if a government violates these natural rights, it loses its legitimacy and may be justly overthrown.145