First there's Plato:
He speaks of the Charioteer as a metaphor for society trying to balance between the good and bad nature. Good being what is best for the whole and bad being what is best for self.
Next is Thomas Hobbes:
In Leviathan, Hobbes talks of the individual's fear of other people in society and their intentions. To overcome individuals come together and create a society which offers everyone protection. In this society there must be a single source of power for everyone to follow in order for it to work.
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. (http://courses.djjr.net/soc112/readings/Hobbes-Leviathan.pdf).
Then we have Jean Jacques Rousseau:
Rousseau focuses on why individuals within society find purpose to sacrifice meeting needs of their own for the good of society as a whole. He seems to be looking at the same area that Plato did but asking how it works. I'm not sure I understand very much of this, it was a little difficult for me to digest. I may update the post after class, and taking another look at the reading.
Rousseau, Jean Jacques. The Social Contract (excerpt). (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Rousseau-soccon.html).
And last but not least we have Adam Smith:
Ah... Wealth of Nations, such an easy read. If you couldn't smell the sarcasm that that statement was reeking of then you should sit down and read a few pages of the book. Yes, it's brilliant, but no, I do not want to spend my free time pouring over it.
That said, I did absorb a little bit. Smith discusses the innate desire of human beings to trade with one another. This implies that as society stratifies a specialized labor force will develop to support that desire. And, that's about it folks. Again, I'll try to update this after class, maybe I'll have absorbed a bit more by then.
Smith, Adam. Wealth of Nations (Book I Chapter II). (http://art-bin.com/art/oweal1a.html).
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