The disparity between a Hobbsian world and the world of CandideIn an anarchic Hobbsian world, man leads a purely selfish existence, perpetually waging war against his fellow men. In this world, nature subsists as a playground for evolution: only the strongest and most cunning survive, and even survival results in a life that is “nasty, brutish, and short” (Hobbes). However, with constraints (i.e. government), a Hobbsian world can flourish as a society. According to Hobbes, those who wish to escape natural anarchy must implicitly give up some personal freedom in exchange for societal order. Hobbes's philosophies influenced many of his contemporaries and later intellectuals, including Voltaire, demonstrated in his satire Candide. At first glance, Candide appears to be a strict manifestation of Hobbsian philosophy: an anarchic world centered on war, relieved only by the ceding of personal freedom to communal order – El Dorado and the Garden. However, after a thorough examination of the work, we recognize that the characters in Candide are not Hobbsian. The Hobbsian man is naturally selfish and ambitious, whereas Voltaire's characters are not. Perhaps certain characters in Candide suffer their misfortunes because of their greed; However, this weakness cannot be attributed to an innate character of humanity. Rather, in Candide's world, avarice appears as a byproduct of the fallibility of man-made institutions (i.e., religious and educational), which are the primary targets of Candide's satire. Voltaire. Thus, Candide's world, although structured like a Hobbsian world, contains men who are not Hobbsians. It's in the middle of a sheet of paper...the inability to cooperate. Or perhaps Voltaire is suggesting that the world could be controlled more effectively if the man-made institutions he satirizes could be reorganized in some way. Overall, Voltaire's subtle divergence from strict Hobbsian philosophy allows him to ask perhaps unanswered questions about humanity and our potentials. Works Cited Bottiglia, William. “Candide’s garden”. Voltaire: A collection of critical essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Hobbes, Thomas. “Of religion. » ed. Smith, Lacey Baldwin and Jean Reeder Smith. The past speaks. 2nd ed. 1 vol. Lexington: Heath, 1993. Richter, Peyton. Voltaire. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Tsanoff, Radoslav. Candide and the critiques of Voltaire. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1966. Voltaire. Candid. New York: Viking Publishers, 1996.