Question

Why is there no justice in the state of nature? What does this say about the nature of justice? would it make difference if God looked over (and created the state of nature?)

Answer 1

• According to Hobbes, in the State of Nature there is no property and both justice and injustice are impossible, whereas for Locke both property and justice and injustice exist before the Social Contract.
• For Hobbes, the State of Nature is a state of war, in which everyone regards one another as ememies, opposing against each other. In such situation, there is no guarantee that one can keep his or her own possessions constantly; also, there is no justice and injustice because no law has been established. Hobbes's arguments are as following.
• In short, Hobbes claimed that with equal faculties, everyone has even opportunities to get what they want. However, because living resources are limited, it results in avoidlessly intense competitions among mankind. With consciousness that the others may have chances to get things we desire, we are commonly in an uneasy mental state.
• Since there is no arranged order or reasonable distribution in the state of nature, the best way to ensure one's living is to make efforts to get things as many as one can. What one is capable of obtaining is one's, no matter with what kind of methods, and that is why Bobbes said that force and fraud are two crucial virtues in the State of Nature, not justice. In the State of Nature, there is neither "yours" and "mine", nor "right" and "wrong".
• People do not have their respective legal possessions as their property. Everyone has to fight constantly to overcome their diffidence and earn their living. There is no justice and injustice because there is no law in the State of Nature. Property, justice and injustice, if they do exist, they will exist in the agreements of the members of a civil society.
• When people find that they can live in a more stable and peaceful state by composing society, they decide to consult with each other, set some social contracts besed on their mutual profits and transfer their right to the ruler. In this way, people start a recognized game in society and everyone who joins the game has to obey the commom rules, i.e., the laws. Then, we will have property, justice, and injustice.
• While there is no justice in a state of nature, there is justice within a society. When man empowers an artificial man to become sovereign over a group of people, the sovereign creates covenants for those below him to follow. Since there are now laws within this society, breaking one of these laws would be considered unjust.
• Hobbes makes the claim that it is impossible for a sovereign to act unjustly. The basis of his claim is that if there was no sovereign, there would be no laws. If there were no laws, there would be no such thing as justice. Hobbes also states that a man cannot punish himself. Since a man is always following the first law of nature, to condemn himself in any way would be an impossible task against his own prosperous being.
• Due to time limit,remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation