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Political Science - The Leviathan Essay

Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan in 1651, outlining his views on absolutism and social contracts. He believed humans in a state of nature would be in constant conflict, requiring an all-powerful sovereign to maintain order. Hobbes argued self-interest leads to war without rules and enforcement. Though influential, some disagree with Hobbes' lack of faith in human cooperation and independence. Leviathan established Hobbes as foundational to modern political science.

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Mari Managadze
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126 views3 pages

Political Science - The Leviathan Essay

Thomas Hobbes wrote Leviathan in 1651, outlining his views on absolutism and social contracts. He believed humans in a state of nature would be in constant conflict, requiring an all-powerful sovereign to maintain order. Hobbes argued self-interest leads to war without rules and enforcement. Though influential, some disagree with Hobbes' lack of faith in human cooperation and independence. Leviathan established Hobbes as foundational to modern political science.

Uploaded by

Mari Managadze
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Thomas Hobbes’s “Leviathan”

In the mid-1600s, a masterpiece of a book came out that shaped the future of political

science forever. The book was called ​Leviathan​, and it was written by a philosopher named

Thomas Hobbes, who was born in 1588 in Wiltshire, England. Hobbes did not write ​Leviathan

until 1651​1​, when he was 63 years old, but it remains his defining work in which he outlines his

views on government, absolutism, and social contract.

A social contract is an agreement between people to sacrifice some amount of liberty in

order to protect themselves and ensure their collective survival and security. In ​Leviathan,

Hobbes writes that without any kind of social contract, there exists a “state of nature,” which is a

state which he describes as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”​2​ To Hobbes, the state of

nature is a perpetual state of war between men, which he describes as “no knowledge of the face

of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all,

continual fear, and danger of violent death.”​3​ In Hobbes’s mind, the solution to the problem of

man in nature is absolutism, or one all-powerful ruler over all the people​4​.

Personally, I’m afraid I have to disagree with Hobbes on several points. I believe that,

though he meant well, Hobbes was clearly suspicious of the capability of humans when it came

to being able to rule themselves equally, as well as being disillusioned with the English

1​
Tom Sorrel, “Thomas Hobbes.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., December 24, 2019.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Hobbes​/. (19 Jan. 2020)

Thomas Hobbes, ​The Leviathan​. PDF file. April 1651, 78,


2​

https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/hobbes/Leviathan.pdf​. (21 Jan. 2020)

3​
Ibid.

4​
Ibid, 106.
government, as he lived through a horrific period of civil war where his countrymen turned on

each other.​5​ Though Hobbes makes a point on innate human selfishness​6​, I do not believe that

selfishness warrants rule from a tyrant, as the other thing that humans want from birth is

independence. Hobbes made valid claims on human selfishness, and his influence is still felt

today. His ideas are the foundation of almost all Western politics, and they went on to influence

other philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.​7​ Through

Leviathan,​ Hobbes made clear his views on government and thus secured himself as part of the

core of modern-day political science, in whose classes his theories are still taught today.

5​
Jane H Ohlmeyer, “English Civil Wars.” Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., August 8, 2019.
https://www.britannica.com/event/English-Civil-Wars​. (22 Jan. 2020)

6​
Hobbes, ​Leviathan,​ 61.

7​
“Thomas Hobbes.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, June 28, 2019.
https://www.biography.com/scholar/thomas-hobbes​. (22 Jan. 2020)
Bibliography

Hobbes, Thomas. ​Leviathan​. PDF file. April 1651,


https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/hobbes/Leviathan.pdf​. Accessed 21 Jan.
2020.

Ohlmeyer, Jane H. “English Civil Wars.” Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., August 8, 2019.
https://www.britannica.com/event/English-Civil-Wars​. Accessed 22 Jan. 2020.

Sorell, Tom. “Thomas Hobbes.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.,


December 24, 2019. ​https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Hobbes​/. Accessed 19 Jan.
2020.

“Thomas Hobbes.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, June 28, 2019.


https://www.biography.com/scholar/thomas-hobbes​. Accessed 22 Jan. 2020

5​
Jane H Ohlmeyer, “English Civil Wars.” Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., August 8, 2019.
https://www.britannica.com/event/English-Civil-Wars​. (22 Jan. 2020)

6​
Hobbes, ​Leviathan,​ 61.

7​
“Thomas Hobbes.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, June 28, 2019.
https://www.biography.com/scholar/thomas-hobbes​. (22 Jan. 2020)

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