Niccolo Machiavelli: the prince: Originality of Machiavelli ; Dirty Hands -- Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan: Theory of human nature in society -- John Locke: the second treatise of government: Of the original contract ; Do people actually consent to political authority ? ; Two worries about mixing one's labour ; Reconstructing Locke on property -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau: the social contract: General will ; Public interest ; Legislator ; Two concepts of liberty -- Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: the German: Playthings of Alien Forces ; Forces and relations of production ; Alienation -- John Stuart Mill: On liberty and the subjection of women: Freedom of expression ; John Stuart Mill and Ends of life ; Paternalism ; Mill and sexual inequality ; Hope of friendship