Hobbes' Leviathan: The Monster That Keeps Us Safe › The Argument: Building the Leviathan

Hobbes constructs his argument with geometric precision, moving from human nature to the necessity of absolute sovereignty. He begins with psychology. Humans are matter in motion, driven by appetites and aversions. We seek pleasure and flee pain. What we call "good" is simply what we desire; "evil" is what we avoid. There's no objective good independent of human desire. This psychological egoism underlies everything that follows. From psychology, Hobbes derives the state of nature. Without common power, humans pursue their desires without limit. Conflict becomes likely. The state of nature is a state of war. From the misery of the state of nature, reason discovers the laws of nature: seek peace, be willing to covenant, keep your word. But these laws are ineffective without enforcement. Therefore, humans must covenant together to create a sovereign. Each person agrees with every other to surrender their natural right to all things to a common power. > "I authorize and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition: that you give up your right to him, and authorize all his actions in like manner." Notice the structure. The covenant is between subjects, not between subjects and sovereign. The sovereign is created by the covenant but is not party to it. This means the sovereign cannot breach the covenant (you can't breach an agreement you never made). And subjects cannot claim the sovereign violated their rights, because they authorized all the sovereign's actions in advance. The result is Leviathan: an "artificial man" composed of all the natural persons who created it. The sovereign is its soul, giving life and motion to the whole. The magistrates are its joints. The laws are its nerves. The wealth of citizens is its strength. The people's safety is its business. > "This is the generation of that great Leviathan, or rather, to speak more reverently, of that mortal god, to which we owe under the immortal God, our peace and defence."