Xi-protons

THOMAS HOBBES AND

THE SOCIAL CONTRACT
THEORY

Group 1
 Thomas hobbes
The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-
1679) is best known for his political thought, and
deservedly so. His vision of the world is strikingly original
and still relevant to contemporary politics. His main
concern is the problem of social and political order: how
human beings can live together in peace and avoid the
danger and fear of civil conflict. He poses stark alternatives:
we should give our obedience to an unaccountable
sovereign (a person or group empowered to decide every
social and political issue). Otherwise what awaits us is a
"state of nature" that closely resembles civil war – a
situation of universal insecurity, where all have reason to
fear violent death and where rewarding human
cooperation is all but impossible.
 State of nature
The state of nature is a "war of all against all," in which
human beings constantly seek to destroy each other in an
incessant pursuit for power. Life in the state of nature is "nasty,
brutish and short.“
The state of nature is a concept used in moral and
political philosophy, religion, social contract theories and
international law to denote the hypothetical conditions of
what the lives of people might have been like before societies
came into existence.
 Social contract theory
A social contract is a voluntary agreement in which
mutual benefit occurs between and for individuals,
groups, government or a community as a whole.
According to any of various theories, as of Hobbes Locke
or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and
invested with the right to secure mutual protection and
welfare or to regulate the relations among its member
 Social contract theory
Hobbes impels subjects to surrender all their rights and vest all liberties in
the sovereign for preservation of peace, life and prosperity of the subjects. It is
in this way the natural law became a moral guide or directive to the sovereign
for preservation of the natural rights of the subjects. For Hobbes, all law is
dependent upon the sanction of the sovereign. All real law is civil law, the law
commanded and enforced by the sovereign and are brought into the world for
nothing else but to limit the natural liberty of particular men, in such manner, as
they might not hurt but to assist one another and join together against a
common enemy. He advocated for an established order. Hence, individualism,
materialism, utilitarianism and absolutions are inter-woven in the theory of
Hobbes.