Hobbes' Leviathan: The Monster That Keeps Us Safe › The Core Thesis

::: {.callout-note title="The Central Insight"} In the absence of a common power to keep them in awe, humans exist in a state of war. The only escape is to covenant together, each surrendering their natural right to all things to a sovereign with absolute power. This sovereign, whether one person or an assembly, is the Leviathan, the mortal god whose power alone makes peace and civilization possible. ::: This is more radical than it first appears. Hobbes isn't saying government is useful or beneficial. He's saying it's necessary for human life above the level of beasts. Without the sovereign's sword, there is no property, no justice, no society, no arts, no letters. There is only fear and the continual danger of violent death. The state doesn't exist to make us virtuous or to realize some vision of the good life. It exists to keep us from killing each other.