Getting Out of the State of Nature
Bookmark this page

Hobbesian men want desire "glory" (wealth, deference, high position), but at the same time are "diffident" about relations with other men. Men need law to live the kinds of lives that they want to lead. Diffidence makes it unlikely that they would ever come together spontaneously. Clearly, the two do not go together. However, the two are very important in helping to lift man from the state of nature.

A rational egoist will desire a law that everyone except him will follow. However, he will also realise that everyone else will wish for this. Nevertheless, the state of nature is awful, and thus there will need to be some way of creating a system of law out of it.

Doing this presents a few problems. First, who would enforce the law? The rational egoist could try to enforce it himself, but this wouldn't work as all men are roughly equal.

The second problem is the question of who would be the first to obey? The first man to do this would be at an immediate disadvantage.

The answer to both of these questions, for Hobbes, lies in choosing a law-giver and a law enforcer by agreement. Choose a man, or body of men and authorise everything that they do. The choice of law-enforcer and law-giver is the moment of contract. It is then that political power is created.

Other Notes in this Category

1. Getting Out of the State of Nature
2. Summary of Hobbes' Argument
3. The State of Nature
4. Unlimited Sovereignty

Didn't find this useful?

• Visit Coursework.Info for over 14,000 GCSE, A-Level and University Essays