Thomas Hobbes' Social Contract Theory

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Thomas Hobbes' social contract theory, as presented in his work, "Leviathan." It discusses the concept of the social contract and how it can be upheld. The paper then discusses Hobbes' view that the social contract has much significance in the history of political thought and that the various kinds of political entities are expressions of the social contract theory.

From the Paper:

"The social contract is no utopian system, however, but a necessary compromise among individuals who would otherwise wage relentless war upon one another. Indeed, Hobbes' view of human nature is rather bleak and his underlying assertion is not that the social contract preserves what is best about humans, but that it keeps them from being at their worst. Humans are naturally selfish, according to Hobbes, and are prone to seize what they need or desire at the expense of all others. Without a social contract in place, human existence would never rise above a primal existence. Life would be relentlessly violent, marked by constant war and theft. In the state of nature, men and women are little better than animals. They require a social contract for the mere preservation of the species, which would not survive long without it."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Ed. Steven M. Cahn. Political Theory: Machiavelli to Mill. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

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