Summary:
In his philosophical work, Self-Interest, Thomas Hobbes constructs a model for all civil governments. He argues that men are born with an instinct for self-interest and self-protection, entitles them to increase their satisfaction or fight for their safety by any means possible. Without legislation, they can't be held responsible or be punished for actions, driven by their survival instinct.
In his philosophical work, Self-Interest, Thomas Hobbes constructs a model for all civil governments. He argues that men are born with an instinct for self-interest and self-protection, entitles them to increase their satisfaction or fight for their safety by any means possible. Without legislation, they can't be held responsible or be punished for actions, driven by their survival instinct. If everyone has a right to act according to his own judgment and reasoning, no man will ever feel safe knowing that his neighbor might find it acceptable to hurt him. Therefore, a social contract is necessary to create a civil society to maintain peace, order and safety amongst its citizens.
The concept of "social contract" implies a conservative view on government. It exists for the purpose of defining the relationship and communication individuals. Social contract, as defined by Hobbes, constitutes of people giving up their natural rights and transferring them to the elected governing body. The governing body then uses the powers given to it to make laws, which everyone must obey. If laws apply to all, one does not feel restrained by those laws when taking into account that his safety depends on others obeying them. By transferring their natural laws to an absolute sovereign power, men receive in return.
The social contract is inevitable because without it all men would always be at war with each other. (Hobbes 142) "Nature hath made men so equal, in the faculties of the body, and mind..." (140) Some men have bigger muscles or are more erudite, while others find themselves to be wittier and wiser. Overall, men's physical and mental abilities are relatively the same. If all men are created equal, each of them has a right to everything earth has to offer and two different men can claim a possession of the same thing. The resources provided to us are limited and must be divided amongst all. If two men both desire a thing they can neither share nor divide, they become enemies. Naturally, the two of them have to fight in order to decide who gets to keep the subject of their conflict and who goes home empty-handed. Men are motivated by their self-interest and do not stop fighting until they get what they want, which sometimes constitutes hurting each other.
Living in a state of war precludes the concepts of right and wrong that exist in civil societies. An act of protection that one finds justified, another man finds offensive. An invader might think he has a right to his neighbor's possessions, while the defender rejects this reasoning. Security can't be accepted based on the reasoning of one individual. Only laws, created artificially, against the state of nature, can identify one's actions as wrong or unjust. Without laws, men do not have any rule to follow but their own reason or passion. All of the laws are governed by one main principle: Do not do to others what you wouldn't want others to do to you. (152) By following this simple rule, men do not live in fear of being hurt by their neighbor.
The foundation of natural rights arises from human desire to protect themselves and their family. (145) Social contract enables equal men to live at peace with each other. It establishes the ground for any civil society. Most importantly, it ensures that men have a sovereign power. Its main premise is to resolve disputes that arise between men and provide them with safety. Hobbes believes that men are motivated by on greed and honor. (142) His lack of faith in humanity is ability to live peacefully on their own explains his proposal of giving men a social contract, set guidelines to follow.
This is the complete article, containing 618 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
