and disorder, in the 16th and at 17th centuries respectively. Machiavelli's view of human nature emphasizes that men are ungrateful liars" and neither noble nor virtuous. He warns of the d dangers of political motives that go beyond concerns with the exercise of power. For Hobbes, the lawless use"state of nature" is one of a war of all men against each other. Through a"social contract" with his subjects, a sovereign exercises absolute power to save society from this brutish state. But the concern s with power is not unique to early modern Europe. Much 20th-century political thought is concerned with the sources and exercise of power.