The State of Nature
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The state of nature is the natural condition of man, in which there exists no state. Without government, and the settled social living that government makes possible, men would all roughly equal.

No much is much stronger than another, and as such, each man could be killed by stealth. Because of this, men are suspicious of one another. Thus, men avoid each other. Security is the prime consideration. Each man would strive for security and thus dominion over others - but each being rougly equal in ability, would not be able to achieve this.

Aggression would be compounded because one would never know what one had to do to preserve one's life. One's right to preserve one's life - what Hobbes calls the right of nature - may involve killing another. But one has the right to do this so long as one feels that one's life is in danger.

The state of nature is a state of war, because life in the state of nature has the inevitable tendency to lead to war. Although there are pauses in the fighting, this is still the state of war, as war is characterised by intervals in fighting.

Life in the state of nature is miserable. There is little economic progress and little happiness.

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

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