Smith_Sexual Violence & American Indian Genocide

Thomas Hobbes believed that people could not govern themselves and that a monarch with absolute power would protect life best

• Advocated for rule of law

• Social contract with government: some freedoms sacrificed (respecting government) in exchange for government protection

• Hobbes lived during a time of great political and social upheaval in England (English Civil War 1642-1651)

  -This context influenced his belief in the necessity of a strong, centralized authority to maintain order and prevent society from descending into chaos

• Published "Leviathan" in 1651, where he articulated his political philosophy

  • Argued that the natural state of humanity is a "war of all against all," where individuals are driven by self-interest and a constant desire for power

• Believed that without a common power to keep them in awe, people would perpetually be in a state of conflict and insecurity

• To escape the state of nature, Hobbes proposed that individuals enter into a social contract, surrendering some of their rights and freedoms to a sovereign authority

  • This sovereign, whether a monarch or an assembly, would have absolute power to enforce laws and maintain order

• Hobbes argued that the sovereign's authority is derived from the consent of the governed, but once established, it is irrevocable. He believed that any attempt to challenge or overthrow the sovereign would lead to chaos and anarchy

• Hobbes's ideas had a profound impact on Western political thought. His concept of the social contract influenced later thinkers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau