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In his brief introduction to the Leviathan, Hobbes describes the state as an organism analogous to a large person. He shows how each part of the state parallels the function of the parts of the human body. He notes that the first part of his project is to describe human nature, insofar as humans are the creators of the state. To this end, he advises that we look into ourselves to see the nature of …

…they produce more benefit than disbenefit for society. Contemporary versions of social contract theory attempt to show that our basic rights and liberties are founded on mutually beneficial agreements, which are made between members of society. John Rawls argues in A Theory of Justice (1971) that in an original position, a group of rational and impartial people will establish a mutually beneficial principle of justice as the foundation for regulating all rights, duties, power, and wealth.