Preview

To What Extent Does Thomas Hobbes Justify All Power To A Sovereignty

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
601 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To What Extent Does Thomas Hobbes Justify All Power To A Sovereignty
Thomas Hobbes:
Why Does Hobbes Justify All Power to a Sovereignty? Sixteenth century English philosopher, Tomas Hobbes believed that humankind originated in a time he called The State of Nature, which he argued “the life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Hobbes reasoned that once individuals escaped this state of nature, humans assembled to form civilizations and governments to protect themselves from outside threats. Hobbes coined this idea as the Social Contract theory, or an invisible document that civilized people are born into by forfeiting rights in return for safety. This lead Hobbes to argue that absolute sovereignty was the ideal form of government, where the sovereign being one individual or an elite group possessed complete control over all subjects in the
…show more content…
This ensured that people were safe within the jurisdiction; however, the cost of protection came with having limited freedom. The sovereign often portrayed themselves as a monarch by divine-right, and proclaimed that it was God’s will to instate them to rule the region. Hobbes argued that a divine-right monarchy was the strongest and most consistent form of government and that democracy often fell due to corruption and inconsistences between ideas. In Hobbes’ book The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic, he states, “there is nothing to be said in a democracy, because the sovereign dieth not, as long as there be subjects alive; nor in an aristocracy, because it cannot easily fall out, that the optimates should every one fail at once; and if it should so fall out, there is no question, but the commonwealth is thereby dissolved” (Chapter 23, Paragraph 11). Hobbes discusses that democracy fails and is evident with fall of the Athenian government in Greece during 322BC. Hobbes also discusses that an aristocracy is another form of government that rarely fails because of self-interest, but if the aristocracy does

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The social contract theory is the belief that people are free and equal by natural right , and that this in turn requires that all people give their consent to be governed; espoused by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and influential in the writing of the Declaration of Independence. Hobbes believed that a monarchial type of government was necessary to restrain humanity’s bestial tendencies because life without government was a “state of nature.” Stating that people will live like animals without rules. On the other hand, John Locke argued that the government’s major responsibility was the preservation of private property. He also denied the right that no king should govern but also that individuals were born with equal and natural rights.…

    • 4775 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The text states, “be the proclaimed author of everything that their existing sovereign does and judges fit to be done….nothing the sovereign does can wrong any of his subjects, nor ought any of them to accuse him of injustice.” (Hobbes, 2004, p. 80) Hobbes believes that to avoid the state of nature, every man versus every man, an absolute sovereign must govern the people to ensure there are no disagreements. According to Hobbes the absolute sovereign is the starting point of all laws and is given this power by the citizens, the text states “the authority that has been given to ‘this man’ by every individual man in the commonwealth, he has conferred on him the use of so much power and strength that people’s fear of it enables him to harmonize and control the wills of them all.” The sovereign was chosen to represent the will of the people, and knows what is best for…

    • 1957 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher of the 1600’s that tried to create a basis for politics. Having experienced the English civil war, Hobbes realized that the conflict was the result of human nature. Hobbes exclaimed that the world was full of greedy people and those who are selfless and care only for themselves. Without the government to maintain order, Hobbes said that there would be “a condition of war of everyone against everyone”. Hobbes noted that in order to stop this, the people would have to sacrifice their freedom for the government. In exchange, they gained law and order. He also notes that this sacrifice would allow the government to suppress any form of rebellion. Hobbes called this agreement the social contract.…

    • 123 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Phi-286 Mod 3 Wa 1

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Thomas Hobbes lived during revolutionary times, beginning with the overthrow and demise of the English King, Charles 1, in 1641 (Newton, 2004). Hobbes writings of 1651 are documented with an influence from these events, while being credited with transition from medieval to modern thinking in Britain. Although Hobbes post-revolutionary treatise ultimately depended on accepting an absolute monarch, which contradicts present day philosophy, still, Hobbes is credited with the notion of a person's natural rights. Hobbes theory depicts the right of self-preservation, by stating a person may do whatever needs to be done to save their life and to procure the means to live (Newton, 2004). Hobbes' rather straightforward approach suggests that every man is an enemy of every man (Newton, 2004) and the worst that can happen to anyone is a violent death at the hands of others. Citing natural rights, Hobbes therefore indicates we have the right to prevent a violent death from taking place through self preservation, by taking action against those who may or may not harm us. Hobbes theory of mankind illustrates a violent, short, and solitary life, which arises perhaps his most powerful work. Hobbes identifies just how little humankind rarely uses good judgment. These ideals of natural rights, human judgment, and society set in motion a foundation, which would be expanded upon by…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes added to the ideas of democracy by creating the idea that all men are born bad with an urge for war. He stated that in order to have a stable society, government would be required to strictly watch and govern each citizen. He writes that man should give down their power to a much bigger government in order to maintain a single power that can help control the masses. This bigger…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 18

    • 1729 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Hobbes.
Thomas Hobbes. (1588-1679). ‘Born premature when mother heard of oncoming Armada.’ At 40, he took Euclid’s geometry as starting point to make mechanical model of universe (man and society). Mechanism (based on motion) was to greatly influence thinking over next few centuries. Witness to upheaval of civil war in England in 1640s. Fled to France. 1651. Publishes "Leviathan.”Hobbes sees state of nature sans government as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." Promulgates absolute monarch thesis. Says people (wholly selfish) should escape chaos of everyday life, give up their freedom to ruler who guarantees peace and order. In his state Hobbes saw ruler as absolute with men having no right to rebel since this would break the social contract and be illogical.…

    • 1729 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Hobbes, government is needed so that society will not collapse into violence due to humanity’s selfish desires and self-interest. Hobbes believes that humanity’s natural state is motivated by self-interest and will do everything they can to succeed in their endeavors. People will do whatever it takes to fulfill what their idea of ‘good ’is. When everyone acts this way it quickly devolves into chaos, war, and violence.…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes and Locke did not have many of the same views on government. Though it is not directly stated in his text, most historians believe Hobbes was a supporter of absolute monarchy. He believed the government should have absolute authority over all the citizens. He believed if such a government did not exist, we would live in a world of turmoil. The sovereign (government) has the obligation of keeping the peace and, when need be, national defense. The sovereign establishes all the laws, and has complete legislative,…

    • 841 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes believed in a social contract, an implicit understanding between government and governed. His ideal government would be an absolute monarchy that holds power like a leviathan, a sea monster. John Locke, also an English philosopher, believed that people…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first sight, Locke’s The Second Treatise of Government, seemed quite similar to Hobbes’s Leviathan. They both believed that a state of nature is a state that exist without government. They believe that men are created equal in this state, however Hobbes argues that because of self-preservation, man possessed the desire to control over other man. Locke, on the other hand, reasons with a more peaceful and pleasant place.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hobbes was a philosopher who saw humans as a purely physical being. He believed that all human actions can be explained through the motions in our bodies. According to Hobbes all feelings and emotions are a result of phantasms, our perception of the objects around us. This perception is a motion within our bodies and each person perceives these phantasms differently causing love, hate, desires, and what we think is good and bad. Every feeling that comes from ones perspective has a physical feeling, such as desires can cause certain pains and it is only human nature that one does whatever is needed in order to relieve those pains. Hobbes therefore sees humans as being able, by their state of nature, to take or do whatever necessary for themselves even if it shows no regard for the other people their actions may harm. This inevitably would end up in a fight for survival or “the war of all against all”. In order to prevent such a war from happening Hobbes thought it necessary that the individuals must promise each other to give up their right to govern themselves to the sovereign for the mutual benefit of the people. This sovereign then has absolute power to rule with no questions asked and not to only act on behalf of the citizens but to completely embody their will. In summation, Hobbes believed that society could only exist under power of the sovereign and that life in the state of nature is violent, short and brutish, as all men act on self-interest.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Hobbes’ mind humans are naturally violent and need to control to avoid any outbursts which would destroy social order (63). People with this thought process saw that the body in power should have complete authority over their subjects with no restraint on their power and no one being able to remove them from their throne. This however is setting a kingdom up for failure as even though some people can be prone to violence, oppressing them with a monarch that controls them too harshly or that are disinterested in ruing a kingdom can cause an even more violent uprising which is displayed in the French revolution. Nonetheless, having a government body put in power is necessary as humans do require leadership and social order but that same government body must be held accountable if there are caught doing any wrongdoings that could severely hinder the progress of the community or create arduous situations to their…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1.Why do we have government? As the colonist declared their independence from Great Britain, many did not want a political system, due to England’s horrid political structure. This resulted in a conflict between those who wanted to live free from rule, and those who saw the need for a system. The colonists’, who did not want to be ruled, compromised because they wanted their natural rights and liberties to be protected.…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hobbes' Leviathan and Locke's Second Treatise of Government comprise critical works in the lexicon of political science theory. Both works expound on the origins and purpose of civil society and government. Hobbes' and Locke's writings center on the definition of the "state of nature" and the best means by which a society develops a systemic format from this beginning. The authors hold opposing views as to how man fits into the state of nature and the means by which a government should be formed and what type of government constitutes the best. This difference arises from different conceptions about human nature and "the state of nature", a condition in which the human race finds itself prior to uniting into civil society. Hobbes' Leviathan goes on to propose a system of power that rests with an absolute or omnipotent sovereign, while Locke, in his Treatise, provides for a government responsible to its citizenry with limitations on the ruler's powers. The understanding of the state of nature is essential to both theorists' discussions. For Hobbes, the state of nature is equivalent to a state of war. Locke's description of the state of nature is more complex: initially the state of nature is one of "peace, goodwill, mutual assistance and preservation". Transgressions against the law of nature, or reason which "teaches mankind that all being equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty and possessions," are but few. The state of nature, according to Locke's Treatise, consists of the society of man, distinct from political society, live together without any superior authority to restrict and judge their actions. It is when man begins to acquire property that the state of nature becomes somewhat less peaceful. At an undetermined point in the history of man, a people, while still in the state of nature, allowed one person to become their leader and judge over controversies. This was first the patriarch of a…

    • 3013 Words
    • 87 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    After establishing the state of nature, humanistic motivation, the social contract that arises from those two and the best form of government to rule the commonwealth; the most important topic left to address is how the proposed Monarch should rule and maintain power. It is already proposed by Hobbes that the sovereign must have consent from the people or there will be revolt and chaos, which ultimately breaks the contract; but he anticipates this and asserts that the…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays