John Hobbs

1.

Hobb’s contract theory explains the constitutive and not the historical causes of the state because the social contract effectively establishes the state in the first place. The idea behind the social contract is that it protects the rights of the people and limits the power of the ruling authority which infers that historically those rights of the people were not protected and were abused by the authority of the land therefore it favours sapientia over prudential because the knowledge behind the social contract is not build upon historically proven wisdom, but is build upon new wisdom. “There is really no inevitable progress of constitutional theory through history”. (Vincent, 1987:82) I agree with Vincent about this relevance of historical knowledge with regards to the social contract as proposed by Hobbs (1651).

2.

The mains differences between Aristotle’s and Hobb’s political ideas is that Aristotle believed the theory of constitution’s purpose was to regulate how government ruled while Hobb’s believed that government purpose was to support the constitution. Their idea of political power was vastly different too. Aristotle believed that political power arose as a result of inequalities within society while Hobb’s believed political power arose out of a mutual interest to procure security between peoples. (Hobbs, 1651).

3.

In the state of nature, Hobb’s identifies three causes of war. These are competition, diffidence and glory. “The first maketh men invade for gain; the second, for safety; and the third, for reputation.” (Hobbs, 1651). In modern times, war is often fought under the idea of safety while in reality it is being fought for greed. The war in Iraq is an example of this. Depending on who one speaks to, this war could either be in the name of safety of in the name of greed. In reality it is probably a bit of both. The UN sent in the American army into Somalia, this can be looked at as being in the name of glory. Somalia was supposed to make the American government look good in front on the world.

Reference List:

· HOBBS, T, 1651. The Leviathon.

· VINCENT, M, 1987, Theories of the State.