Six notes on the classic texts of political philosophy, from Hobbes's case for near absolute rule to Marx's account of surplus value.
Hobbes imagines humans stripped of government and asks what life would actually look like, then builds a case for near absolute rule from the answer.
Locke takes apart the idea that kings inherit their power from Adam, then builds his own case for natural equality, consent, and the right to own what you work for.
Bentham argues that pleasure and pain, not divine command or natural rights, are the only sound basis for judging an action right or wrong.
Mill argues that society should almost never police what a person does to themselves alone, then spends a whole chapter testing exactly where that line falls.
Kant argues that only a good will is good without qualification, then works out a single test for right action that does not depend on outcomes or feelings.
Marx traces how an ordinary commodity hides a social relation, then shows how that relation lets a capitalist turn money into more money by buying labor itself.