The two most influential and widely-acknowledged philosophical minds that have reformed the social theories of political strategy, social protection, and nuances of human nature, are Nicollo Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes. Both these eminent philosophers worked on the social contract theory to define how the ideal state should function and succeed in its ventures under the rule of a sovereign leader . However, there are differences in the two theories, in terms of the clarity and description of the exact nature of roles and responsibilities of the sovereign ruler (Smith," Introduction to Political Philosophy.Lecture 12 - The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan"). The notion of the ‘state’, as phrased by Hobbes has some distinctive features which make it more socially habitable when compared to that of Machiavelli (Hobbes, “Leviathan”). This essay tends to analyze how Hobbes’ viewpoints involved scientific logic and innovated notions on the concept of the state and sovereign which ultimately made it more habitable.
In order to have a clarity on how Hobbes innovated the entire state theory, it is must to have a clear picture of the Machiavellian theory of state and sovereign rule. Machiavelli (1469-1527), being the predecessor came up with his version of the state where the sovereign ruler was the supreme power and unlike Plato and Aristotle, he believed that power comes to those who have enough competitiveness to attain it. In his work ‘Prince (1513)’, Machiavelli came up with the concept of the sovereign ruler (Prince) of state who was supposed to attain a two-way approach for gaining his authority, prowess, and destiny to rule the state and its people (Gardner,"Thomas
Hobbes and Niccolo Machiavelli: A Comparison"). He coined the term ‘Virtu’ which covered all the basic skills required to be possessed by the Prince so that he can gain the desired results of political, economic ,and social well-being of his state. The prince was entitled to deploy any attribute under his sovereign rule and was even allowed to use cunningness, treachery, manipulation, violence , and destruction to achieve his means. This approach towards the social theory of the state made it refutable to the use of unregulated and immoral methods by the sovereign ruler. Hobbes picked upon these loopholes in the Machiavelli’s philosophy and innovated the notion of political realism to include the quintessential elements of peace and harmony for the people of the state.
Hobbes(1588-1679), accepted the Machiavellian model of political realism but he disagreed with the inclusion of monopoly with the concept of political sovereignty for the state(Gardner,"Thomas Hobbes and Niccolo Machiavelli: A Comparison"). In his work, Leviathan (1651), Hobbes made it compulsory for the ruler to ensure social security and peace in all his endeavours to govern the political authority and associated power (Hobbes, “Leviathan”). He drew the scientific logic of human nature related traits and fused them with those of the political bodies to coin the new definition of the sovereign rule . He professed the sanctity of natural human rights and even prevented the sovereignty of the state to surpass over the civil rights (Hobbes, “Leviathan”). He rephrased the existence of the political control of the sovereign state as a covenant formed by the will of the governed citizens and considered it a mandatory role of the state to protect the rights and interests of its people.
Hence, it can be concluded that Hobbes made Machiavelli’s philosophy of state more habitable as he excluded the possibilities of political monopoly and selfishness from the role of the ruler. Ultimately, Hobbes was a philosopher of the social theory whose aim was to rephrase the politics of the sovereign state with a scientific footing. He blended the notions of human behavior with an extremely logical approach to his social theory. He demystified the Machiavellian philosophy of the state by explicitly stating the righteous way of ruling the state and also mandated the assurance of social peace and harmony in the ways by which the state was ultimately ruled.
Works cited
Gardner, David. "Thomas Hobbes and Niccolo Machiavelli: A Comparison". E-International Relations, 1 Sep. 2010.Web. 12 May. 2016.
Hobbes, Thomas. " Leviathan (the matter forme and power of a commonwealth ecclesiastical and civil) ". eBook- The University of Adelaide Library. Adelaide, South Australia, 2016. Chapters 11-31. Web. Accessed at < https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/h/hobbes/thomas/h68l/index.html>
Smith, Steven. " Introduction to Political Philosophy.Lecture 12 - The Sovereign State: Hobbes, Leviathan". Open Yale Courses, 18 Oct. 2006.Web. 12 May. 2016.
