Question

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes

What is the main argument of the entire book how does it relate to politics and government?

Answer 1

• Hobbes writes of the natural condition of human beings, which he believes is inherently troublesome; the state of nature that exists without a government, which to Hobbes is terrifyingly chaotic; and then the laws of nature that he says can, but do not always guide human behavior towards self-preservation.
• Hobbes says that “in the nature of man we find three principal causes of quarrel: first, competition; secondly, diffidence, thirdly, glory,” and then list’s man’s primary aims to be gain, safety and reputation.Because of these instinctive desires and consistent behavioral patterns, Hobbes believes that the natural condition of human beings is troublesome, and leads only to a state of chaos and conflict.
• Without a common power, each man is his own lawmaker and judge.In fact, the right of nature allows each man to seek self-preservation and to do what he believes is necessary to achieve that end. Each man will turn against the others.In the interests of self-preservation, man should seek peace and make covenants.
• Hobbes says that the only way to erect the common power needed to maintain peace and security is through a covenant, in which men give their power to one man and submit their wills to his will and their judgment to his judgment.
• Working off of his ideas of human nature and the state and laws of nature, Hobbes theorizes that governments are formed through covenants of the citizens, who choose to cede their rights to one leader or group of leaders who assumes their authority and makes decisions on their behalf. Because humans are so quarrelsome and the state of nature is so intolerable, Hobbes feels that a powerful monarch can best keep law and order in society.
• Most of what Hobbes says is logical, if not universally accepted, but he does not address sufficiently how governments are formed in real-life situations.