Final answer:
Ayn Rand's philosophy is in stark contrast to Hobbes, advocating for minimal government interference and emphasizing rational self-governance and individual rights, whereas Hobbes supported strong authoritative governance to maintain social order and security.
Step-by-step explanation:
Contrary to Thomas Hobbes, Ayn Rand argues that government is the cause of, rather than the solution to, most problems and views human nature as rational and peaceful. While Hobbes asserts that people must surrender their freedoms to avoid a life that is 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,' and therefore support a strong government or Leviathan to ensure peace and security, Ayn Rand's philosophy is markedly different. Rand espouses that individuals are capable of rational self-governance and that a free market with minimal governmental interference allows for the flourishing of individuals and, by extension, society.
In contrast to Hobbes' advocacy for an absolute monarchy to avoid the chaos of a state of nature, Rand's Objectivist philosophy emphasizes individual rights and the ethical egoism in which each person should act in his or her own rational self-interest. Whereas Hobbes believed that an authoritarian government is necessary to maintain order, Ayn Rand contended that such governments impede individual rights and progress.