Hobbes western political thought

 

Hobbes is famous for his early and elaborate development of what has come to be known as “social contract theory”, the method of justifying political principles or arrangements by appeal to the agreement that would be made among suitably situated rational, free, and equal persons. He is infamous for having used the social contract method to arrive at the astonishing conclusion that we ought to submit to the authority of an absolute—undivided and unlimited—sovereign power. While his methodological innovation had a profound constructive impact on subsequent work in political philosophy, his substantive conclusions have served mostly as a foil for the development of more palatable philosophical positions. Hobbes’s moral philosophy has been less influential than his political philosophy, in part because that theory is too ambiguous to have garnered any general consensus as to its content.

“Hobbes was in fact the first of the great modern philosophers who attempted to bring political theory into intimate relations with a thoroughly modern system of thought, and he stroke to make this system broad enough to account on scientific principles, for all the facts of nature, including human behavior both in its individual and social aspects.” (Sabine)

Hobbes invites us to consider what life would be like in a state of nature, that is, a condition without government. Perhaps we would imagine that people might fare best in such a state, where each decides for herself how to act, and is judge, jury and executioner in her own case whenever disputes arise—and that at any rate, this state is the appropriate baseline against which to judge the justifiability of political arrangements. Hobbes terms this situation “the condition of mere nature”, a state of perfectly private judgment, in which there is no agency with recognized authority to arbitrate disputes and effective power to enforce its decisions.

Hobbes was of the view, “The only basis of human action is a perpetual and restless desire of power after power that ends only in death. By nature man is selfish and egoistical. Everyone is striving for the gratification of his appetites and these appetites are different from individual to individual because of physical constitution, education and experience."

Hobbes was of the view that there was no distinction between right and wrong in the state of nature. Only force, deceitfulness and intimidation were the order of the day. The only slogan echoed “Kill when you can, usurp what you can.” There can be no private property in the state of nature for possession of a thing depends upon the power of upholding it.

 

According to Hobbes, man undoubtedly wanted peace and tranquility; but his fear of others, his anxiety to retain what is already had and his never ending desire for self-aggrandizement on the basis of ‘mine and mine’ led him to perennial conflict and anarchy in the state. Man is the state of nature becomes the slave and tool of impulses and passions. Later on man realized that peace had definitely more utility than constant was and fear of violent death brought man’s passions into line with his reasons.

 

Man could live in harmony and peace with one another either through fear of punishment or desire for profit. And this purpose could only be achieved by establishing a strong and stable Government capable of inspiring awe and fear by using harsh and arbitrary methods who disobey its laws and of giving attractive rewards to those who do conform.

Hobbes’s sovereign was presented as a Mortal God vested with absolute and unchallenged power to rule over his subjects arbitrarily. He was the smasher of the regular channels of democracy, a way of life. Hobbes’s sovereign suffocated all the social and cultural communication between the people bringing about a reign of oppression and harshness.

 

Hobbes said, “By this authority, given him every particularly man in the wealth, he has the use of so much power and strength conferred upon him, that the terror thereof, he is enable to form the wills of them all to peace at home and mutual aid against their enemies abroad. And in him consists the essence of the Commonwealth which is one person, of which acts a multitude, by mutual covenants one with another have made themselves, everyone the author, to the end he may use the strength and means of them all, as he shall thinker expedient, for their peace and common defense.”