Hobbes, Thomas (1588–1679)

THOMAS HOBBES IS best known for his famous book Leviathan, which was published in 1651. Influenced by the scientific discoveries of his time and by his readings of philosophers, he became the first philosopher who tried to modernize political thought and, to a degree, emancipate it from the premises of religious ethics. His work was innovative, for he introduced scientific methods to the study of individual behavior, which stood for the first time at the center of political analysis.

But Hobbes's philosophy and his persistence on the question of social order were at the same time influenced by the social disorganization caused by the civil war in England and the struggle between the old and the new regime, between monarchy and the embryonic market society. The interpretations of his philosophy by modern political science and sociology are not homogenous and the views about his theory are to a great degree contradictory. While a part of political sociology considers him a pleader of the absolutist state and a defender of the bourgeois society, another view emphasizes his influence on the theory of liberal democracy and the theories of social contract.

Hobbes's analysis derives from his conception of human nature. For Hobbes man is not necessarily a social animal. On the contrary, the human natural instincts are based on selfishness and interest. People are forced to abandon their state of nature and live together in the society. They do so not out of humanism or solidarity, but for the fulfillment of their own special needs. Rich individuals are exclusively interested in the reproduction of their own wealth and indifferent to the poverty of others. Human nature is for Hobbes individualistic, utilitarian, and competitive (homo homini lupus). It contains native inclinations, desires, and needs that cannot result in a harmless social coexistence and in peace, but in a struggle with the other members of the organized society.

In order to avoid the interpersonal struggle and the social conflicts caused by human competition, an “Artificial Man” (homo artificialis), the state, is necessary. For the maintenance of social order and the avoidance of conflict and disorganization, social subjects should deliver their own individual power and political will to the state. Through the obedience to the state and the acceptance of its political predominance, individuals contribute to the creation of a commonly accepted, sovereign power, which consists of individual wills and at the same time stands upon them.

According to Hobbes, this institutionalized, sovereign common power has both an internal and an external role: it not only protects men from each other, but also protects them and their property from the invasion of enemies and is the only one responsible for the establishment of law and political decision-making. The authorization of a third, external power, the state, to protect individuals from competition and struggle and the right of the state to exercise power and violence for the purpose of social order is the basis of the Hobbesian social convention: “I Authorize and give up my Right of Governing my selfe, to this Man, or to this Assembly of Men, on this condition, that thou give up thy Right to him, and Authorize all his Actions in like manner.”

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