Extended Essays 2021

Hobbes’s Rationale for Order

Rebellion is explored by philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his Leviathan (1651) as he

examines the State of nature and social contract. Man is required to renounce their

natural rights in the hope of greater gain and good for the State, thus abandoning the

state of nature. This provides a preface for the social contract; a manual transferring

of rights that enables those in power to maintain peace and protection for citizens.

Hobbes claims that as a commonwealth is formed when a majority agree, the ability

to represent all men is then gained by the state. Without the approval of the state, one

is not permitted to cast off the commonwealth. As a result of the superior and

omniscient ability of the government, it cannot be justly replaced. Hobbes allows

society the ability to object to their condition as a final resort to immense suffering

though this must not ever translate to society’s revolt. The claim of, “Give to Caesar

that which is Caesar’s,” 6 highlights the authority of the state over the people’s property

in response to their continued welfare. Hobbes posits that the Sovereign is the most

knowledgeable and qualified person within society and as such, most adept at

governing.

Primarily, Hobbes’s argument that one is required to renounce their natural rights to

join society can be analysed. According to Hobbes, through engaging in the social

contract, the State inevitably gains the power it does over its citizens, this power being

absolute. The people are incapable of casting off monarchy and its inevitable right to

represent all men according to Hobbes due to this absolutism. Furthermore, Hobbes

positions the argument that the sovereign has made no covenant or promise with its

6 PABEL, HILMAR M. “‘Give to Caesar That Which Is Caesars’: Hobbes’s Strategy in the Second Half of ‘Leviathan.’” Journal of Church and State , vol. 35, no. 2, 1993, pp. 335 – 349, www.jstor.org/stable/23918690?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. Accessed 18 July 2021.

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