Which of the following best describes a similarity between thomas hobbes and jean-jacques rousseau?
a. both believed that all members of a community should be equal.
b. both argued that a country's political power must always be divided.
c. both believed that societies were built upon social contracts.
d. both supported absolute monarchy as the best form of government.

The correct answer is C. Both believed that societies were built upon social contracts.

Hobbes and Rousseau are both contractual philosophers of the Enlightenment period. They both deal with human nature, the origin of society, and how society should be ordered.

On one hand, Thomas Hobbes in his book, Leviathan, argued that after a chaotic state of nature, individual humans would organize, make a social contract, and renounce to some individual liberties in order to form a strong central power (the state) that protects them from the abuse of stronger individuals.

On the other hand, Jean-Jacques Rousseau said in the political treaty The Social Contract, that during the state of nature the individual human was naturally good but it was impelled to associate to others in order to satisfy its needs. For that reason, humans would freely make a social contract by which they would be led by the general will of the society, which is fundamentally a democracy.

the expansion of the rule of empires over other territories took place as a result of several reasons including economic, ethnocentric, political, and religious, and exploratory purposes.

in terms of economic purposes: imperial governments aimed to maximize profits and with that purpose they neeeded cheap labor, access to or control of markets to sell or buy products. they also desired to find natural resources (precious metals and land). in the awake of   industrial revolution, dependent colonies provided the necessary raw materials that european factories and market needed to manufacture products.  

ethnocentric: many territories were conquered by imperial territories in an attempt to spread their cultures, values and belief as they considered them to be superior. in the late 19th century, for example, european powers held   the racist belief that inferior races should be conquered in order to “civilize” them.

political: another reason that drove conquer and expansion was patriotism and growing imperial power. it refers to national prestige, pride, and security. empires sought strategic territory to ensure access for their navies and armies around the world.

religious: the aim of converting new member of other religions was another factor that prompted expansion.   christian missionaries from europe established churches in conquered territories during the nineteenth century. thus, they spread western cultural values. furthermore, the imperial nation’s language was spread as well, through educational and religious interactions.

exploratory: imperial nations or their citizens aimed to explore territory that was unknown to them,   for different purposes including medical or scientific research, however, at the very   beginning, they did it to embark on adventure. furthermore, imperial explorers sought to discover, map, and claim territory before their imperial competition did, for national and personal glory as well as to realize the imperialist goal of expansion.

zheng he was a chinese explorer who lead seven great voyages on behalf of the chinese emperor. his seven total voyages were diplomatic, military, and trading ventures, and lasted from 1405 – 1433. however, most historians agree their main purpose was to promote the glory of ming dynasty china.

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