Political Science and International Relations

Thomas Hobbes
Presented by Ashna Sisodia
u From Britain (1588-1679) – book – Leviathan (Sea Monster)
u Witnessed Puritan Revolution of 1641 (violent)
u Catholics (supports church) vs Protestants (supports king) ; Royalists vs Anti-
Royalists (Catholics) – Protestants wanted to purify their national church by
eliminating every shred of catholic influence.
u No security of life or property
u Karl Marx acknowledged that Hobbes is father of all of us. He is one of the best
author which English race has ever produced.
u Main concern : Right to life (right to self preservation as absolute right)
u Includes Self-defense
u Life is given by god
u State is not the source of right, but only protector of right.
u State cannot deprive someone from right to life in arbitrary manner (means state
can deprive a person from his right to life only in accordance to the procedure
established by law.)
u Hobbes as the greatest of all individualists. (Man is prior to state) Self-Interest is
supreme.
Perspective of Hobbes as a thinker
u Macpherson calls Hobbes as a scholar of bourgeoise class
u Materialist
u Utilitarian approach
u Belongs to social contract tradition – as economic system changes, other
spheres of our life changes also.
u 1st thinker to give theory of Right to life.
u 1st thinker to give complete theory of sovereignty
Known as greatest of all individualists and absolutists.

Methodology Scientific
Influenced by Galileo – Resolutive Compositive
method – complex phenomena can be understood by
understanding the elementals parts and then
correlation.
Methodology by Hobbes
u Resolutive Compositive method
u Understand Human Behavior – working of human mind (like everything
in universe, our mind is also made up of particles till we are alive –
particles are in state of motion)

Either person does

Human something - Inclination
actions are
classified as Descartes
or person avoid - Aversion

Emotions are because of movement of particles in

response to external stimulus – proving that Man is
Utilitarian by nature and Individualistic by nature.
 Pain
Pleasure

Bentham
Nature has not Man is guided
made man such 1st person to primarily by
suggest All Men Passions
Utilitarian way that he can are Same. No
approach understand (Appetite), so
one is Inferior or long we have
pleasure and pain
of other person Superior appetite we are
living.
Social contract tradition
u Ancient times – State is prior to Man. State as natural. Organic view of state.
u Medieval times – Economic system è Feudalism (based on work)
u Theory of Divine Origin of State – State was creation of gods and king as representative of
god – absolute powers to the king.
u Modern western societies è based on Contract (Constitution) – contract document
u state is considered as the creation of man è Mechanistic view – state is a machine
created by man to serve him.
u Man is prior to state.
u State is the product of will of man. Life of a man is a continuous search for power
1. Description of human nature after power which ceases only with his death.
2. State of Nature
3. Contract
4. Outcomes of the contract
 Life of a man is Nasty, Poor,
Brutish and Short

Utilitarian
Individualistic
Human State of Hypothetical
Nature Nature concept

Biggest Fear – Fear of Death

• For Preservation of Outcomes
life Man is Pleasure seeking and
• Life is a source of
Contract of the man is fearful of losing the
pleasure and death is Contract things which gives him pleasure
the end of pleasure
Linkage of feeling of fear and utilitarian
I and Fear were born together nature of man
Fear in man is the foundation of political obligation
 no-one trusts each other
it is a contract of all with
all.
each secures the guarantee
from the other.

Transfer of all natural condition - every other

rights person does so

outcomes of the contract state is the 3rd party

creation of the state
sovereign

right to life
Right to self-preservation is
Inalienable(natural). only exception
obligation of state
 Man has only 2
options

live under live under

absolute absolute
Anarchy authority of state
Security has a
primacy over
liberty.
Human nature State of Nature Contract

utilitarian anarchy Man wants to

enjoy

struggle for security of

Individualistic power life

Absolute liberty but no security

Critical Evaluation :
u Description of human nature – too much influenced by situations prevailing in England
during his time.
u Gives only one-sided view of human nature.
u Scholar of emerging capitalist class.
u Cannot be considered as scientific explanation. It is nothing but a discourse on human
nature.

State of Nature :
• The State of nature is a state of war of all against all.
• In the state of nature, the life of man is nasty, poor,
brutish and short.
• In the state of nature, there is no scope for art,
literature, letters, navigation and industry.
Hobbes on Liberty
u On Contract : I give up all of my rights to this assembly or to this
person (state) on the conditions that all will give up their rights.
u Liberty is where law is silent.
u Hobbes does not prefer liberty.
u Extreme liberty è Anarchy è no guarantee of even right to life.
u Security is supreme value than liberty
u In process of contract, man transfers all of his rights except right to life.
u Authority of state is Absolute è man has no freedom to act according
to his choice.
u Man is Under compulsion to act according to law.
u Man will be punished in case he does not act according to law.
u When man does not follow the law of sovereign, it means as if he is
sovereign.
u In a particular territory, there can’t be more than one sovereign.
u Man will follow law so long it appears useful to him, man will be tempted
to evade law when it appears no more useful.
u When one person gets unpunished, others will follow such people. It will
lead to state of anarchy.
u Life of all cannot be brought back into state of anarchy because of the
mischiefs of few persons.
u Man has only 2 options – power of sovereign is absolute, man has no
freedom.
u The statement is not about liberty rather justification of absolute
authority. State has power to punish those who does not follow law.
Two forms of liberty
u Negative Liberty – Absence of state; original concept of liberty
u Positive Liberty – presence of welfare state; state increasing capacity. (Amartya
Sen- development as freedom)
Liberty signifies properly the absence of opposition in external impediments to
motion. (Absence of law)
Ø A person has freedom to walk but he is unable to walk because he is sick. In this
case, person has freedom but lacks capacity. According to Hobbes, we should not
get confused between liberty and capacity. Liberty in proper sense is just absence
of law.
Ø He differentiated liberty and capacity.
Ø A person having freedom to walk, is unable to walk as he is sick. (He does
not lack freedom but simply lacks capacity).
Ø Liquid closed in the bottle – liquid has capacity to flow but no freedom to flow
as walls of bottle act as impediments to motion of liquid.
Hobbes – scholar of Possessive Individualism
u According to him, Man is :
1. Individualistic by nature
2. Social only out of necessity

whatever man
possess is Man cannot be
possessive philosophy of because of his compelled to
Individualism capitalism own efforts and give back to the
society has no society
contribution
 • preservation of life
imp function of the state • state is institution of utility
for man

what if state fails to protect life • Failed state

or state itself starts taking life • people have right to resist
of citizens ? the state
Hobbes is the greatest of all absolutists
u Who is absolutist ? One who gives absolute power to the state.
v State is Sovereign, not even church will have power over the state. Hobbes book
Leviathan was prohibited by the church.
v Man has liberty when Law is Silent. Man is free only to the extent state has
permitted him to be free by not making law.
v If state has made law, man has to act according to the law.
v What if man doesn’t obey law ? State will have right to punish.
v Why right to punish ? If one will not follow law, others would also be tempted to not
follow law è CHAOS
v When a person does not obey law, it means he claims himself to be sovereign and
believe he can have his own law. In a particular territory, there cannot be more than one
sovereign.
What is law ?
u That law is law which comes from state and that which comes with power of punishment.
u Function of the State : To protect life
u State is an institution which has monopoly over the use of coercive force on a
territory. Private person or other organization using force is not permissible.
u Gandhi was a critic of state. Why ?
o Critic of Modern State, Established in India by British colonial powers
o Opposed it as it represents institutionalized violence.
u What is the idea inherent in the state ?
o Violence or power to punish and Origin of state – to punish the law breakers
u Foundation of state is not in Justice but power. Hence, State is Leviathan (Sea-
monster)
u State is having many times more power than single person. i.e. Do not fight with state,
you won’t win.
Contradiction between Individualism and
Absolutism
u No contradiction
u Man is so Individualistic that he cannot live in peace with other men until and
unless there is an absolute authority.
u Hobbes absolutism is not for the sake of Absolutism but for the protection
of Individual.
u Hobbes has laid the foundation of Utilitarianism. (Hedonism)
u Man is so Individualistic that absolute state is necessary to stop him from
destroying state.
Hobbes on law
u Covenants without swords are nothing but words. (justification of power of punishment)
– law is useless if it does not come with power of punishment.
u Views on law : In western world, 2 prominent traditions of law:
1. Natural Law/Reason- Plato, Aristotle favored this tradition.(Due process of law)
2. Positive Law/Law made by state- Hobbes supports this tradition.
u Why Hobbes does not recognize natural law as law: Natural law has 2 weaknesses –
1. It lacks certainty-vary from person to person

2.It fails to achieve the purpose of law- Establishment of order and security.
u Why Hobbes establishes that Natural law is not sufficient to establish law.
qExample of State of Nature-Natural law existed (state of war)
q Why natural law was unable to est. order? Natural law is a product of Reason. It expects
man to be reasonable. In man, Reason is dominated by passion. Man does have reason but
only limited.(just enough to get things which gives him pleasure)-Reason is never sufficient
to establish order.
Why Positive law is a law?

u Only positive law can establish peace.

u It is definite and comes with power of punishment.
u Fear is the basis of authority.
u Look at state of International Politics – it is in state of anarchy where power
is means and ends. International law is a weak law. It is voluntary in nature. It
lacks power of enforcement. It continues to be the struggle for power.
Assessment of Hobbes as a Thinker
u Hobbes as greatest of all Individualists.
u What is Individualism ? It is the philosophy of modern times. However, we can trace its
routes in thoughts of sophists.
u Self interest has priority over interests of whole.
u 2 types of individualists –
q Methodological – evolve their political theory on individualistic nature of man. Like
Hobbes
q Normative – for whom there is nothing wrong in being individualist. Hobbes considers
that there is nothing wrong in being individualist. As he believes that human nature need
not to be changed. For him, there is no difference between what is and what ought to
be.
q First person to remove the sense of guilt of being individualist. He is scholar of capitalist
class. He established right to life as absolute right and Man can kill other man for the
purpose of protection of his life.
Evaluation

u According to Macpherson, Hobbes starts as Individualists, concludes as

absolutist. Hobbes is individualist in his Assumptions but absolutist in
conclusion.
u According to Sabine, Hobbes absolutism is a derivative of Individualism. It is
for the protection of individual and his right to life, Hobbes creates absolute
state. Even then, he gives individual right to resist the state in case state
deprives him of his right to life.
u Leviathan is useless as a book of history and fruitless as a book of
politics. Vaughan (contemporary and critic of Hobbes)
u Hobbes is one of the most criticized scholars. He was described as devil.
Leviathan was described as a book containing Lewd principles and
poisonous tadpole.
u His book was among the prohibited books by the church and was burnt
during his life.
u According to Vaughan, Leviathan is a useless book. It neither tells the
reliable account of origin of the state.
u Leviathan is also a fruitless book to understand the politics. However, it
is wrong to criticize Hobbes. Hobbes purpose was not to tell the history
of the origin of the state. His purpose was to tell why we should obey
state and how our life will be without state.
u Hobbes is not an anthropologist to give the scientific account of
the origin of the state. Hence, the criticism is not justified.
u Hobbes is one of the most important scholars to understand the
principles of modern political life. Leviathan is not only a
masterpiece in English literature, it is also a masterpiece in
political philosophy.
u Karl Marx, who is regarded as one of the greatest philosophers,
has acknowledged Hobbes as father of all of us (philosophers).