Thomas Hobbes and Absolute Freedom

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes was a political philosopher who wrote a book called Leviathan in 1651.  In Leviathan, Hobbes imagined what life would be like without any government at all - a condition he called the state of nature, or like we discussed in class, Absolute Freedom.  In the state of nature, people could do whatever they wanted, resulting in what Hobbes described as "a war of all against all" or every man for himself.  Life in this state would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short".

According to Hobbes, people living in this violent state of nature will seek to create social agreements with each other.  For example, "I won't steal from or kill you if you won't steal from or kill me."  Then, because people can't always trust their neighbor to keep their promise, they will seek to create a civil society under some sort of authority.  People will give up some of their freedoms to authority in exchange for civil, military, and judicial services.

Hobbes influenced John Locke, another political theorist who is widely considered the "Father of Liberalism".  John Locke, in turn, greatly influenced the founding fathers of the United States.  Thomas Jefferson listed Locke as one of the greatest men that had ever lived.