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Thomas Hobbes View On Sovereignty

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Shahin Raza
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99 views2 pages

Thomas Hobbes View On Sovereignty

Uploaded by

Shahin Raza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Thomas Hobbes's views of Sovereignty:


According to Hobbes Sovereignty essentially lies in the power of
determining on behalf of the entire community, that what should be done to
maintain peace and order and also to promote the welfare of subjects. All
men apart from Sovereign become its subject. Hobbes's attribute of
Sovereignty is absoluteness. The power of the Sovereign to make laws
can't be limited by any human authority, superior or inferior. There is no
rival or coordinate authority in the commonwealth besides the sovereign.
The sovereign is the ultimate authority, he is the source of law and the sole
interpreter of the laws. Even divine laws do not apply to the sovereign, he is
also the sovereign sole interpreter of such laws. According to Hobbes,
Sovereign is also above any sort of morality. Since he is making the
distinction between Moral and Immoral. Hobbes argues that sovereignty is
indivisible, Inseparable, and can't be communicated or given to anybody
else. According to Hobbes, the Sovereign is also the Creator of Property
means what people have in the "State of Nature" is merely possessions
that confer no ownership. Legal property rights came into existence only
with the Sovereign and Society. Since he is the creator of Property without
the consent of the people. The Sovereign is also the source of justice, the
supreme commander of the military, and the source of Law. So we can say
that Hobbes concentrated full executive, Legislative, and Judicial power in
the sovereign. One of the aims of Sovereignty is to establish the supremacy
of law made by the state over all other traditions of laws, Natural Law,
Religious Law, Customary Law, and Positive Law. Social Contract is the
Basis of Hobbes' Sovereignty.

Justification for Absolute Sovereignty


Thomas Hobbes,a prominent advocate of absolute sovereignty, is often
considered the leading proponent of absolutism. His conceptualization of a
sovereign is epitomized by the Leviathan,a sea monster representing the
largest and most powerful of all sea creatures. Hobbes describes the
Leviathan as a "Mortal God," to whom, under the Immortal God, we owe our
peace and defence. It is crucial to note that the concept of sovereignty was
first introduced in political thought by the sixteenth-century French
philosopher Jean Bodin (1530-96). Bodin defined sovereignty as "supreme
power over citizens and subjects, unrestrained by law." While Bodin sought
todevelop the idea of sovereignty into an 'absolute power, he
acknowledged certain limitations. Hobbes, however, discarded these
limitations, establishing absolute power. As George H. Sabine observed,
"Hobbes relieved sovereignty completely from the disabilities which Bodin
had inconsistently left standing." Hobbes argued that society or the state
can only be founded on mutual trust. However, due to the unsocial
inclinations of individuals, spontaneous agreement to respect each other's
rights is unlikely. When entering into the social contract to form a civil
society, mere words are insufficient to bind individuals together. Hobbes
contends that "the bonds of words are too weak to bridle men's ambition,
avarice, anger, and other passions, without the fear of some coercive
power." Covenants, without the sword, are mere words and lack the
strength to secure a person.
Criticism of Thomas Hobbes's theory of Sovereignty
1) Might is right' but Force Alone Can not Secure success to govt.
2) How Rational human beings will Choose to live under an absolute
Sovereign.
3) Critics argue that Sovereign authority takes away all rights &gives No
right to defend themselves.
4) Rousseau criticized Hobbes's theory of the Sovereign as self
contradictory.

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