Thomas Hobbes Case

Commonwealth is established when a person gives up their own right of governing themselves, to one single man, or assembly of men. Thomas Hobbes argues against divided authority and makes it very clear that a lasting political authority is essentially an absolute authority. In this essay I will look at some of the main points why Hobbes is against divided authority and in favor of sovereign authority.

Thomas Hobbes has an anthropological view of the human being. We are moving matter and motion. We move all the time and would do anything to stay alive. Our innate nature is desire for knowledge, power and wealth. Human beings would kill each other to get what they want. He talks about a state of nature, which is a state without any rules, regulations or government. In such a state everybody can do whatever they please, the ones with the post power and offensiveness are the ones that survive the longest. Like Aristotle, Hobbes does not believe that we are similar to animals, living in groups. He says that we make a rational choice to be governed, to follow rules. He goes on talking about different governing systems and which system he thinks is the most effective in a state of nature.

According to Hobbes there must be a higher authority holding the people together and prevent them from following their human nature. He does not blame mankind for this awful state of affairs. He does not think that the desires of a person are sin neither the actions that arise from these desires. If each man had to be his own judge of what is right and wrong then the state would end up in a state of war. What seems "good" to one man might not seem "good" to another. Each person makes decisions regarding his own benefit and for his or her own "good". Man cannot be the judge of man's actions if man's conscience and judgement is the same thing (p.2). Therefore, an absolute sovereignty is required to force a person to act in such a way that benefits the society as a whole. Each person will be more secure when giving up their rights.

Fear for a higher authority would prevent man from the state of war and living in a state of nature. There has to be rules, laws and punishment for those whom act out of line. Hobbes uses the example of a building being built without the planning, guidance and assistance of an architect (p.1). If by chance it had been built, it would not last very long and surely collapse. A state of war is terrible not just for the individual but for the whole state. It is a time when there is no building, no industry, no account of time, no excellent method of transportation, no arts and no society.

To prevent a state to become a state of war, the people in a society join together in a social contract. The social contract he suggests is not about democracy but citizens jointly submitting the rule of a strong and authentic ruler. He calls this the coming together