Philosopher #3: Thomas Hobbes, the Realist

　　Today Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) is lauded as one of the founders of political science. In his own lifetime, however, his books were banned and burned, and he was forced to flee multiple countries to save his neck—all because of Leviathan. In this, his most famous book, Hobbes argues that people are fundamentally selfish and aggressive and will only curtail their natural nastiness out of fear of a powerful leader. He softened this grim view by saying that the leader should be someone whom people agree should hold power, not simply the strongest guy around. Now known as the social contract, this notion irked those in power, since it implied that monarchs need the consent of the people to be legitimate. Hobbes’s work became the fountainhead of all liberal revolutionary movements for the next 300 years.

　　第三位哲学家：现实主义者托马斯·霍布斯

　　今天，托马斯·霍布斯被推崇为政治科学的奠基人之一，但是在他的有生之年，他的书不是被禁就是被焚，为了保住自己的项上人头，他不得不逃往数个国家，这一切都是拜他的《利维坦》一书所赐。在这部他最著名的著作中，霍布斯认为，从本质上讲，人都是自私和富有攻击性的，而且只有出于对强有力的统治者的惧怕才会收敛自己的天然恶性。为了冲淡一下自己的这种悲观的世界观，他又接着说，统治者应该是大家公认的应该掌权的人，而不仅仅是拳头最大的那个。这就是现在众所周知的“社会契约”理论。这个观点使当权者烦恼不堪，因为这意味着君主们需要得到人民的认可才能维持其合法性。霍布斯的著作在三百年内一直是所有自由革命运动的理论源泉。

　　Philosopher #4: Karl Marx, the Communist

　　A radical political thinker who became an even more radical self-taught economist, Karl Marx (1818–1883) was hounded out of France, Belgium, and then France again. Today he is remembered (or reviled, depending on your view) as the father of communism. Marx’s body of work is vast, but its most infamous highlights are Capital and The Communist Manifesto. The former explains how capitalism works, especially how it exploits the working classes. The latter urges workers to unite for the overthrow of world capitalism. While the transformation he called for didn’t happen in his own lifetime, Russia and China, among others, experienced successful communist revolutions in the 20th century. Even noncommunist countries like the United States adopted many of Marx’s socialist ideas, including free education and a graduated income tax. Marx hasn’t lost his capacity to scare people: in 2005, a conservative magazine named the Manifesto the most dangerous book ever written.

　　第四位哲学家：共产主义者卡尔·马克思

　　卡尔·马克思（1818-1883）是一个激进的政治思想家，更激进的爱学成才的经济学家，曾经两次被法国驱逐出境，一次被比利时驱逐出境。今天，他因为是共产主义之父而受到缅怀（或者斥责，这取决于你的政治观点）。马克思一生著作颇丰，但是其中最有名的是《资本论》和《共产主义宣言》这两本书。前者分析了资本主义的运转过程，尤其是它如何剥削工人阶级。后者则敦促工人联合起来推翻全世界的资本主义制度。虽然在他的有生之年他所呼吁的变革并没有发生，但是在二十世纪，俄罗斯、中国以及其他一些国家，成功地实践了共产主义革命。即使是美国这种非共产主义国家也采纳了很多马克思的社会主义理论，包括义务教育和累进收入税。直到今日，马克思仍然没有失去其威胁性：2005年，一份保守杂志命名《宣言》一书为有史以来最危险的书。

　　Philosopher #5: Friedrich Nietzsche, the Challenger

　　Raised to be a Lutheran minister, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) no doubt disappointed his mother when he declared “God is dead” (and it’s a good thing she was long gone by the time the Nazis drew inspiration from Nietzsche’s books)。 Nietzsche was an extremely complex thinker who wrote on a wide variety of subjects, but his most controversial arguments concern morality. Arguing that Western civilization has lost any real faith in a higher power (that’s what he means about God being dead)， Nietzsche claimed that we need to toss off the antiquated morality that went with Judeo-Christian life and embrace our natural creative powers more fully. A challenge to readers to be brave enough to live rich, full lives, Nietzsche’s philosophy still serves as an inspiration to those who are frustrated with religion and a threat to those who aren’t.

　　第五位哲学家：挑战者弗里德里希·尼采

　　弗里德里希·尼采（1844-1900）本来是要成为一个路德教派的牧师的，所以当他宣布“上帝已死”时，他的母亲肯定伤透了心。（所幸当纳粹从尼采的书中得到启发时，老人家早已谢世多年了）。尼采是一个非常复杂的思想家，他的著作涉猎领域很广，但是他的最富争议的论断都是与道德有关的。他认为，西方文明已经失去了对一种更高权威的任何真实的信仰（这也是他所说的上帝已死的意思），他宣称，我们需要抛弃与犹太-基督教生活有关的那些旧式道德，去更热情地拥抱我们自己的自然创造力。尼采的哲学对那些敢于过富裕、充实生活的人是一个挑战，对那些被宗教困扰的人是一种启迪，而对那些不受宗教困扰的人则是一种威胁。