Smoke Monster is Leviathan by Lloyd Newton, Ph.D.

I contend that the smoke monster is Leviathan, for the following reasons.

First, we all know that the show draws on a number of famous philosophical figures, especially early modern political philosophers, including John Locke, Jeremy Bentham, Rousseau, David Hume, Anthony Cooper, Mikhail Bakunin, and Edmund Burke (Juliet's husband).

Second, when you look at the history of modern political philosophy, John Locke is almost always mentioned in connection with Thomas Hobbes, who is usually cited as the founder of modern political philosophy insofar as it broke with the classical tradition founded by Plato and Aristotle. However, there has been no overt mention of Thomas Hobbes on the show. Or has there been? For those who know the history of modern political philosophy, this is a glaring omission.

Thomas Hobbes' magnum opus, the book that begins modern political philosophy, is the Leviathan. For Hobbes, Leviathan is the name of the social contract, which is created by man in order to avoid the state of war, in which every man is at war against every other man.

The term Leviathan, though, is taken from the Bible, in which Leviathan is described as a great sea monster, with smoke coming out of its mouth in Job 41.

For Hobbes, Leviathan is the ideal state and its main job is to protect men. Of course, we know that one of the main jobs of the smoke monster is to protect the island and some of those on it. Furthermore, we know that those on the island are perpetually at war with one another, even within groupings, as when fights almost perpetually break out.

One of the most famous quotations from Hobbes' Leviathan is that the state of nature is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Does this not describe many of the lives on the island?

Finally, If I am right, I expect that we will soon find out that Hurley 'Hugo' Reyes is really related to the de Groot's. My reason for this claim is that the historical Hobbes' political theory, although often considered the foundation of modern political philosophy, is really a twist on a theory developed by Hugo de Groot. The historical Hugo was a dutch philosopher who first articulated many of the laws relating to international relations, but most importantly, he argued for what we today know as the 'inalienable right to life', which was the cornerstone to Hobbes' Leviathan. One of the main themes of the show is everyone's right to protect himself and to do what it takes to stay alive. Does anyone condemn Sayid when he kills others to protect himself, or when Ben kills others, or when Michael killed others in an effort to find his son? All of these acts seem to be justified in light of the principle of self preservation, which is the basis for Hobbes' Leviathan.
Let's face it: the writers of Lost know their political philosophy; this show is about nothing if it is not about political relationships; and the names of the characters are not just sprinkled in here and there for no reason. The names of political philosophers are the major clues to the show.