Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury (born April 5, 1588, died December 4, 1679). He was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy. His 1651 book "Leviathan" established social contract theory, the foundation of most later Western political philosophy. Thomas Hobbes also developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought: the right of the individual; the natural equality of all men; the artificial character of the political order (which led to the later distinction between civil society and the state); the view that all legitimate political power must be "representative" and based on the consent of the people; and a liberal interpretation of law which leaves people free to do whatever the law does not explicitly forbid. "Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil" - commonly referred to as Leviathan - is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642-1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. Thomas Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature ("the war of all against all") could only be avoided by strong undivided government.