The Classic English Literature Podcast

Nasty, Brutish, and Naturally Free: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and the Social Contract

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Apr 20, 2025
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INSIGHT

Hobbes on Human Equality and Conflict

  • Hobbes views human equality as a root cause of conflict because equal desire for the same things leads to enmity.
  • The natural condition is a state of war of everyone against everyone, marked by continual fear and danger of violent death.
INSIGHT

Hobbes’ Leviathan as Unified Sovereign

  • Hobbes defines a commonwealth as a unity of many into one sovereign who wields absolute power.
  • People collectively authorize one entity to wield power to escape the chaos of the state of nature.
INSIGHT

Hobbes on Sovereign Absolutism

  • Hobbes argues the sovereign can never breach the social contract or act unjustly by definition of its absolute authority.
  • The sovereign’s power includes legislative, judicial, and war-making prerogatives, and no one may execute a king.
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