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Government Systems Through the Eyes of Hobbesian State of Nature:

How Much Authoritarianism is Needed?

Jack Cardiff

HZT4U11

Mr. Bain

January 19, 2023

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Throughout human history many different styles of government have been used and

theorized on. Each of these styles interact with the natural state and behavior of man or our

human nature. The most accurate depiction of our nature is held within the works of English

philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes outlines his view of human nature as being naturally

selfish and greedy in Elements of Law, Natural and Politic published in 1655 and how the only

way this nature can be controlled is through a strong absolute rule in his most famous book The

Leviathan published in 1651. By examining the interactions between different forms of

government leadership and the Hobbesian nature of humanity, it is seen that a degree of

authoritarianism is required within a government to control our nature. The different forms of

government to be analyzed include democracy, communism and totalitarianism. Democracy

leaves man too uncontrolled, communism is in direct opposition to the selfish state of humans

and totalitarianism takes the authoritarianism needed to control man's nature too far.

To start, it is appropriate to look at democracy as it is the government system that as of

2017 ninety-six out of the one hundred and sixty-seven countries with a population of at least

five hundred thousand are run by. This makes democracy the most popular government system

globally. The origins of democracy date back to 507 BCE in ancient Athens when a statesman

named Cleisthenes proposed the idea where the people are given a say in government

proceedings; the people meaning those who are male, educated, and military veterans. This early

form of democracy was called demokratia . Democracy is defined as “a method of collective

decision making characterized by a kind of equality among the participants at an essential stage

of the decision-making process” by the University of Stanford (par 3). And this definition is very
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fitting as the most significant property that sets democracy apart from other systems is that the

people have almost complete control of government proceedings through elections,

impeachments, protests and other mass votes like referendums. But what happens when selfish

nature results in media using its influence over the citizens who are incapable, for the most part

of discerning fake information from real information, resulting in tricked people then acting in

the media's agenda. A real-world example of this was the Brexit referendum where the largely

uneducated U.K masses could vote on a complex issue, causing people to rely on media sources

with their own agendas to gain information. This resulted in an outcome that has since had a very

negative impact on the economy of the United Kingdom; causing only one in five previously pro

Brexit voters to believe leaving the EU was the correct choice. The quote “A democracy is no

more than an aristocracy of orators. The people are so readily moved by demagogues that control

must be exercised by the government over speech and press.” From The Leviathan shows the

solution to this problem (Hobbes, 1651, Page Unknown). That being monitoring of the press to a

higher degree. In the situation of democracy Thomas Hobbes’ envisioning of human nature is

especially accurate, with his description of humans as being naturally very selfish and

individualistic. A case in point of this idea is the covid-19 vaccinations where many people

refused to receive the vaccination out of fear for personal livelihood and ignorance; without

thought of the rest of our society and the danger the fast-spreading disease posed. With the US

National Library of Medicine finding that “48.8% of vaccinated adults reported some level of

hesitancy” (Sharon Reece et al, 2023, par 3). So then, in situations like these were man's nature

of selfishness and individualism prevent them from making the more widely positive choice,

government would be correct in forcing the right choice upon its citizens. The only way the

people's nature of individualism and selfishness can be repressed is through a strong government.
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As expressed, democracy is a system that does present benefits. Those being the freedom of

choice, the representation of people in decisions made by the government and the ability to speak

freely of issues impacting your society. But the Hobbesian state of nature of people causes these

positives to quickly become shortcomings through a lack of education, selfishness, and greed.

Authoritarianist ideals would benefit this system in the ability to force good things upon their

people and would then in Hobbes’ view negate the state of man.

The next, government system to be analyzed is communism. Communism exists on the

very far left of the political spectrum and is based on the political theories of German

philosopher Karl Marx. Marx believed that capitalism was enslaving the workers who became

alienated from the fruits of his own labor; and that this would cause a class struggle resulting in

the bourgeoisie being overthrown. He then believed the now united and in power proletariat

would begin the socialist phase where they would confiscate all private property, then these

properties would become government ran for the benefit of the people. Next the communist stage

would begin where the proletariat completely controlled all economic production causing classes

to disappear; thus, absolving the people from the need for government and money. This system

may sound potentially like the key to achieving utopia and a solution to many of our current

problems, namely the extreme power of the 1%. But communist and Marxist theories completely

go against humanities nature of selfishness and individualistic desires. Most individuals possess

an intrinsic need to be or feel superior to their peers, this creates competitiveness and often

anger; but it is also responsible for human ambition and drive. This drive for success and power

is illustrated in a quote from Thomas Hobbes reading “I put for a general inclination of all

mankind a perpetual and restless desire of power after power, that ceaseth only in death.”
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(Hobbes, 1651, Page Unknown). This need for superiority and power would not allow for a

society to be run on a large scale using a system that forces all to be equal and where all are

expected to do what work they can along with selflessly helping whenever possible. These

desires would likely manifest in selfish acts such as keeping supplies meant to be distributed

evenly; supplies meaning things like food, equipment, clothing and most significantly money.

Once the communist stage is reached and the government becomes dissolved the population

would likely be plunged into a state of war as we would quickly become violent without a state

to control us. This opinion is expressed in another quote from Hobbes’ masterpiece The

Leviathan in which he says, “During the time men live without a common power to keep them

all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man

against every man.” (Hobbes, 1651, Page Unknown). But the issues presented thus far have all

been theoretical as no government has yet reached this stage of Communist Theory. The only

issue with Communist Theory pertaining to the Hobbesian nature of people that has been seen in

the real world involves the intermediary stage between capitalism and communism called the

socialist stage. This problem stems from the proletariat dictatorship that must be established to

turn all private property into state owned assets and to gain complete control of all economic

activities. Within the theory this proletariat dictatorship is meant to give up its power to enter the

communist stage, but in practice this never happens. In all real-world examples the dictatorship,

due to self-regarding tendencies, never gives up this power; this causes long lasting dictatorships

to be established, sometimes leading to totalitarianism. This has been seen in the former USSR,

China, Cuba, Vietnam, and North Korea. North Korea reaching a totalitarian state under the Kim

family which have ruled the country with an iron fist for over 70 years. Ultimately, despite its

possibly positive sounding theory, communism goes completely against Hobbes’ views on the
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nature of man. Humanities tendencies towards selfishness and strong thirst for superiority/power

would cause breakdowns on multiple levels of a communist society. Our need for advantage over

others would result in the hoarding of supplies meant to be distributed among the populus. Our

vicious original state would cause great wars when ungoverned. But the ungoverned state could

never be reached due to the proletariat dictatorships need for power, resulting in the dictatorship

never being dissolved and possibly reaching totalitarianism.

Totalitarian governments are the exaggerated form and sometimes evolution of

authoritarian regimes. While authoritarian regimes seek complete political control but do not

control most social institutions, such as the family, and for the most part religion; totalitarianism

goes way beyond this, seeking complete political control along with complete social and

economic control. Totalitarianism seeks total and unlimited sovereignty over all parts of the lives

of its citizens. Famous totalitarian regimes include Nazi Germany, North Korea and Fascist Italy.

Totalitarianism is the government system that Thomas Hobbes is most associated with; although

totalitarianism as an ideology did not exist during Hobbes’ time he is often seen as laying the

foundation for particular totalitarian principles. Hobbes believed the only way to end the chaos

of nature was to have a ruler with unlimited power to impose peace on all citizens. In a

totalitarian government people give up their rights to be provided safety, order and to be

removed from their “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” lives in the state of nature, this

creates a social contract (Hobbes, 1651, Page Unknown). Hobbes’ theory exaggerates the

strength of authoritarian principles needed to create a strong and safe society. Once citizens are

under the control of a totalitarian regime, they are supposed to now be secure and free of danger

from one another, but now they are in danger of the actions of a possibly tyrannical leader.
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Leading to a second point, that all leaders with absolute power, even with the intentions of safety

and security for their citizens in mind, will become tyrannical due to their pure self-interest. As

Hobbes’ believes that man without governing and control becomes violent, selfish and brutish,

then the totalitarian leader who is completely free of any governance or control through his

unlimited power would then also revert to the traits of his natural state. Hobbes’ himself stated

“Government is necessary, not because man is naturally bad... but because man is by nature more

individualistic than social.” (Hobbes, 1651, Page Unknown). So, then does the one man outside

of government not then become individualistic? And how can the citizens be considered safe and

secure under the complete tyranny of a cruel, selfish and power thirsty leader. In brief, Hobbes’

vision of an absolutist leader being the only way to bring all of man peace and security by

freeing them from their state of nature is inaccurate. Citizens cannot be considered secure while

under the control of a leader who by being free of government has regressed into their natural

state.

In conclusion, the idea of an amount of authoritarian concept being needed to create an

ideal society can be seen through comparing the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes to various styles

of government leadership. Within a democracy, the people unregulated by strong government

can easily be controlled by media to make choices negatively impacting the state. Another issue

in a democratic system is that the freedom of the people allows them to make selfish and bad

decisions without the government having the means to force good things upon them. The Theory

of Communism entirely combats Hobbes’ theory of our natural state by assuming that man

ungoverned is capable of being generous and fair to all, even if that means loss to the self.

Communism always results in dictatorship as the proletariat leaders will never be willing to give
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up their superiority over the rest of the people. Even if the actual state of communism where to

be reached the lack of any government would cause man to enter their natural state completely;

this would result in wars, looting and extreme crime. Authoritarian philosophy can also be taken

too far as seen in totalitarian states. In these states the leader has complete and ultimate power

with no repercussions as in the social contract the citizens give up all rights for security, safety

and freedom from their natural state. But a leader with unlimited power then is outside any

control causing them to act in their natural state once again. So how can the citizens be

considered safe and secure under the rule of somebody selfish, solitary and nasty. Therefore, a

government style must exist with authoritarian enough ideals to prevent people from being

misinformed and from acting in their natural state; along with being strong enough to not be

overthrown. But it is imperative that this government does not have a sole leader with complete

power as they themselves will begin acting in their natural state. This could be done by having a

group of educated people make decisions, giving the mass public less say, giving the government

the ability to force citizens to mandatorily do certain things and by having a constitution that

cannot be altered that has guidelines and laws that must be followed by those in charge. The state

of nature is impossible to completely be avoided but can be harshly mitigated using authoritarian

strategies.
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