Comparing Machiavelli And Rousseau's The Origin Of Civil Society

The concept of government came about from human instinct. At the very heart of government is our human nature to protect ourselves. Government arose from an individual's need to protect his or her well-being. As time went on, the individual gradually evolved into a large group that needed authority and protection. Machiavelli and Rousseau have both written popular pieces on the matter of government and the people's need for it. Despite the fact that Machiavelli and Rousseau take vastly different routes to explain the need for government, the human instinct of self-preservation is at the core of both their beliefs. The idea of self-preservation is presented at two different extremes in the Machiavelli's The Prince and Rousseau's The Origin of Civil Society. Machiavelli presents self-preservation as something you consciously do for your own needs and the needs of society. Rousseau presents the idea of self-preservation as an action that began as instinctive and evolved into a conscious
When a father punishes his son for missing his curfew the son instinctively reacts with anger and disbelief. This instinctive behavior is what inspired government to begin with. Rousseau explains in his piece that government grew from family. Family was the first form of government on this planet. The children were bound to their father because they instinctively knew that they needed him for protection and growth. To some extent family is still a government even today. When a human being is born, he or she is incapable of thinking and doing things for themselves, so they are taken into the custody of their parents. The parents nurture them and teach them all they can until they are ready to face the world on their own. The child chooses to obey the parents while they are young because they know that everything is being done for their best