StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Hobbes & Unlimited Government - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
According to Hobbes, absolute monarchy is the best form of government since it is the only one that guarantees individuals absolute peace enabling them to coexist harmoniously to avoid the state of war. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.1% of users find it useful
Hobbes & Unlimited Government
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Hobbes & Unlimited Government"

Hobbes and Unlimited Government According to Hobbes, absolute monarchy is the best form of government since it is the only one that guarantees individuals absolute peace enabling them to coexist harmoniously to avoid the state of war. More so, Hobbes belief that neither limited government nor divided authority is a practical possibility arguing that there must be a supreme sovereign power in the society. Hobbes claims that any form of ordered government is preferable to civil war, therefore, he suggests that all societal members to submit to a single absolute, central authority in order to maintain peace and stability.

Hobbes posits that the government id the only thing that can protect mankind from the fatal consequences of natural liberty (Cox 38). This paper provides an explanation of Hobbes’s arguments in favor of unlimited government, criticisms advanced against these arguments, and Hobbes’s possible reactions to these criticisms. According to Hobbes, humankind was originally created into the state of nature, where they were perfectly free. Life in the state of nature is characterized by solitude, brutality, poverty, nasty, and short-lived.

The state of nature is undesirable and should be avoided because when man lives without a common authority, there will be war, man against man (Wolfenden1). Hobbes saw a strong government to be the necessary tool to avoid civil war and disorder basing his arguments on nature. Therefore, in order to eliminate this state of nature, sovereignty should be established as this will help in promoting peace. Hobbes’s is main argument for a sovereign society was that any form of government is better than the state of nature and that absolute sovereignty is most likely to eradicate completely the state of nature since for him, absolute sovereignty has unlimited power.

Furthermore, Hobbes posits that society can only be peaceful and stable when it is subjected to an absolute sovereign. Man cannot coexist peacefully without a strong established authority since man is quarrelsome in nature (Wolfenden, p.1). Since life in the state of nature is not good for anyone and following the troublesome of humankind, formation of a commonwealth is logical and necessary in order to maintain peace and security through a covenant. Through this covenant, individuals surrender their freedom to Leviathan, the state, in order to escape from the terrible life in the state of nature.

Under the monarch government, all the private and public interests are the same. However, he says that the authority of any government should stand for challenge by people because the government is a commonwealth. Moreover, Hobbes argues that monarch authority is the best since it concentrates power without any constraints (Wolfenden1). Some criticisms have been advanced against Hobbes’s arguments. Firstly, his theoretical explanation about the formation of the government is cannot be applied practically.

Hobbes claims that all governments are formed through a covenant, but this is not the case because governments are imposed on willing subjects. Hobbes himself seems to justify this by stating that all men behaving rationally would want to consent to the commonwealth since the alternative, that is, the state of nature is so terrible and unappealing and actually no one would wish to leave in that state (Wolfenden1). Another criticism against Hobbes’ arguments was advanced by one of his main opponents, John Locke.

Unlike Hobbes, Locke presented strong arguments for limited government. According to Locke, the state of nature is actually of freedom since no man is expected to obey any other and that there are laws of nature that guide individuals and ensure that they coexist peacefully (Dawkins). This criticizes Hobbes’ stand that the state of nature is unappealing and that man can only coexist peacefully in the presence of absolute authority. However, based on the first criticism, Hobbes would reply by stating that it is only when individuals come together to form a commonwealth through a covenant when a strong authority is formed.

Furthermore, he would argue that the formation of a commonwealth, Leviathan, was because of man being tied with the life in the state of nature. Following the second criticism, Hobbes would respond that absolute sovereignty guarantees all peace and enforces peaceful coexistence between people in the society. This is so because for Hobbes, under monarchy, the private and public interests are the same since the monarch’s riches come from his subjects. In addition, man cannot fully enjoy their freedom when there is no authority to govern their behaviors and help maintain order amongst them.

In summary, Thomas Hobbes prefers absolute sovereignty as the most appropriate form of government that promotes peace and maintains stability in the society. He argues that the state of nature is unappealing and no would like to leave in that situation and so merging together to form a commonwealth is necessary in order to coexist peacefully. Some of the criticisms advanced against his arguments are, first, his explanation of the formation of the government has been refuted with his opponents arguing that governments are not formed through a covenant but through individuals’ wills.

Secondly, Locke has disagreed with Hobbes with his claim that the state of nature is terrible and man cannot coexist peacefully, and according to Locke, state of nature symbolizes absolute freedom and there are laws of nature which enable individuals to coexist peacefully. Works Cited Cox, Chana B. Liberty: God's Gift of Humanity. Lanham [u.a.]: Lexington Books, 2006. Print. Dawkins, Ellie. A Comparison of Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan and John Locke in His Second Treatise of Government.  2010. Web. 28 October 2013.

Wolfenden, Katherine. Hobbes' Leviathan and Views on the Origins of Civil Government: Conservatism by Covenant. Student Pulse. 2010. Vol. 2 No. 12, pg. 1-1.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Hobbes & Unlimited Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1489446-hobbes-unlimited-government
(Hobbes & Unlimited Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/history/1489446-hobbes-unlimited-government.
“Hobbes & Unlimited Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1489446-hobbes-unlimited-government.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Hobbes & Unlimited Government

Human Nature and Government

This paper ''Human Nature and government'' tells that Many philosophers investigated the notion of human nature and the place of government in society.... The contradictory opinions of the philosophers such as Hobbes, Plato, Rawls, and many others encourage to review of the setting of the government in different epochs.... Seventeen centuries later, another philosopher Thomas Hobbes invites us to his theory that describes society as a state of nature, a condition without government (Richard 1971)....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Hobbes State of Nature

In simpler words it is the condition before the rule of positive law comes into being or a way to discuss the conditions of society and government.... Hence, if the government could not do as much for people as they did for themselves in the state of nature, the government could be invalidated.... Locke believed that government should be from the people and that it should be limited so as not to violate the natural rights of people....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Culture and ethical values

Thomas Hobbes remains one of the most important figures in the history of modern philosophy, and is best remembered for the employment of the theory of the social contract to explain the nature and origin of government as emanating from a ‘state of nature'.... Rebellion against government, thus, is explicitly wrong, not only because it is destined to fail, but also because it sets a poor example (Russell, 2004, p.... Any other means of resistance to government is culpable....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Hobbes' and Locke's Understanding of the State of Nature and of Natural Law

He argued that people could cope with and survive well with others, but a government was needed (Christman 2002).... The government would merely possess enough power granted by the people.... The perception of Locke on the government was founded only on serving the greater good or the public interest.... He detested having an unlimited, supreme authoritative government (Christman 2002).... In his Two Treatises of government (1690), Locke set forth the view that the state exists to preserve the natural rights of its citizens....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Hobbes and Lockes Legitimate Political Authority

Conversely, Hobbes's influence is evident on what the people can do to change their government (Sigmuid, 1971) Similarities and differences between Hobbes and Locke Both Hobbes and Locke agree that the government is a necessity.... As reiterated by Hobbes, people form government for purposes of self-preservation.... In any society, the creation of government is often perpetuated by fear.... However, Hobbes is against limited government and supports absolute sovereignty since limited government is not sufficient in terms of safeguarding citizen's right to self-preservation....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Machiavelli and Hobbes Assess Aristotles Polity

The 16th and 17th centuries saw the emergence of two political thoughts that proposed singular views on government and the structure of society.... Aristotle, Hobbes, and Machiavelli each designated in their works the best “practical” kind of government.... In the following paper “Machiavelli and hobbes Assess Aristotle's Polity” Aristotle's polity and Machiavelli and hobbes's theories on politics are discussed....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Being Right and Fair for Thomas Hobbes on the Natural Rights

This essay "Being Right and Fair for Thomas hobbes on the Natural Rights" focuses on hobbes' theory that a person's self-interests and preferences of actions are important because actually they are the basis of the philosophy of that particular person.... nbsp;… Thomas hobbes is one the most popular philosopher for his ethical and social theory about the political structure of a community in the form of his book Leviathan.... hobbes's political philosophy head off from a number of premises and all of these premises are self-evident in their nature....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Hobbess Employment of Natural Rights

Hobbes, while advocating for the promotion of natural rights of human beings attempts to bring it together with absolutism as a means of ensuring that there is moderation to human nature to ensure good government.... From the paper "hobbes's Employment of Natural Rights" it is clear that the ability of human beings to retain peace is quite limited and they need to be under the absolute control of a sovereign to ensure that they are able to live peaceful and secure lives....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us