Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan in 1651. Hobbes is considered the founder of modern political philosophy (Pettit, P. 2005). His account of man, the state of nature and the natural law creates the foundation of all his political conclusions. He uses his scientific, geometric method to form the basis on which to construct a detailed discussion of specific political matters, including the institution of a commonwealth, the authority of a conqueror, the nature of the sovereignty and the civil law. Hobbes lays a solid foundation for the ordering of a society under the sovereign. He argues that the state of nature is ended by the conception and establishment of a common power. Since human reason has limits, the state of nature is a state of “war of all against all”. To help themselves come out of the state of nature, human beings need to create a commonwealth and subject themselves to the power of the sovereign (Pettit, P. 2005). Covenants in this case are not good enough, since according to Hobbes “covenants are but words”. Covenants are made in the state of nature and they are not binding.
Reason is important in the formulation of Hobbes’ argument on the ordering of society. In order to understand Hobbes’ conception of politics, it is also important to explore “reason” and the “laws of nature”. He defines a law of nature as “a precept or general rule found by reason, by which man is forbidden to do that which is destructive of his life or taketh away the means of preserving the same and to omit that by which he thinketh it may be best preserved” (Hobbes, T. 1998, 79). Individual reason produces the law of nature and the fundamental law (first law) is to seek peace (Brett, A. 1998).
Hobbes’ geometrical methodology is more apparent in his treatment of the laws of nature. It is also in the description of the laws of nature that he lays out the fundamentals of human reason. The first law of nature as argued earlier encourages a state of peace by instructing individuals to satisfy their desire for self-preservation. Yet, because peaceful coexistence requires reciprocity, if only one party seeks peace, it is unlikely it will be established. For this reason, there is a second part to the first law of nature; that is, if others are not interested in settling the conflict, one must resort to violent action to secure one’s survival. Humans, as we have seen, have a natural right to determine what is necessary for their own individual survival. The existence of this natural right often promotes a state of war, so peace requires that individuals renounce or transfer this right in part or in whole. Hence in the creation of laws we see the manifestation of the social qualities of reason.
Through reason, a multitude unites to form a covenant under the sovereign. According to Hobbes “a commonwealth is said to be instituted, when a multitude of men do agree, and covenant , every one, with every one, that to whatsoever man, or assembly of men shall be given the major part the right or present a person of them all, to be their representative;.. to the end, to live peaceably amongst themselves and be protected against other men” (XVIII 113). This introduces the notions of voting and majority decision which are at the center of the practice of democracy in the modern times.
Hobbes contends that everyone must accept the authority of the sovereign and the principle of majority rule. This leads us to one of the contentious issues on Hobbes’ theory of politics, which is the power of the majority or the potential tyranny of the majority. The sovereign that emerges out of the covenant of the majority is permanent, has absolute power, his power are unlimited and is indivisible.
References
Brett, A. 1998. Liberty, right and nature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hobbes, T. 1994. Leviathan. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing.
Pettit, P. 2005. Liberty and Leviathan. Politics, Philosophy and Economics, 4 (1) pp. 131-151.
