Thomas Hobbes began writing Leviathan (basically an early constitution) by describing the state of nature where all individuals were equal. He thought that the life of man in a state of nature would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” In the state of nature, there were no laws or police to restore order. The only way out of this situation, Hobbes said, was for individuals to create a supreme power to impose peace on everyone. Hobbes said that the people agreed among themselves to “lay down” their natural rights of equality and freedom and give absolute power to a ruler, or sovereign. The sovereign, created by the people, might be a person or a group. The sovereign would make and enforce the laws to secure a peaceful society. This would make life, liberty, and property possible. Hobbes called this agreement the “social contract.”