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Exploring the thought experiment of what human life would look like without a government or shared rules.
Imagine waking up in a world where there are no police, no courts, and no laws. You are completely free to do anything you want—but so is everyone else. Would you feel powerful, or would you be terrified?
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) was an English philosopher who asked a fundamental question: What is the natural state of humanity? To answer this, he created a thought experiment called the State of Nature. This is a hypothetical world where there are no laws, no government, and no central authority to keep order. In this state, every individual has a 'right to all things'—even to each other's bodies. Hobbes argued that without a power to keep everyone 'in awe,' humans would live in a constant state of fear. This isn't because people are necessarily 'evil,' but because they are rational. If there is no law to protect your life, the most logical move is to strike others before they can strike you.
Quick Check
In Hobbes' theory, why do people in the State of Nature attack each other if they aren't necessarily 'evil'?
Answer
Because it is a rational choice to strike first when there are no laws to protect you from others.
1. Imagine a teacher leaves a classroom and says, 'There are no rules until I return.' 2. At first, some students might enjoy the freedom to shout or eat. 3. Soon, a stronger student might take a smaller student's phone by force. 4. The smaller student has no teacher to appeal to for help. 5. To protect themselves, students start forming 'gangs' for defense. 6. Even the 'winners' are stressed because they must stay awake to guard their belongings.
Hobbes famously described life in the State of Nature as 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' He identified three main reasons why people would fight: 1. Competition: Fighting for resources like food or land. 2. Diffidence (Distrust): Fighting for safety by attacking first to ensure you aren't a victim. 3. Glory: Fighting for reputation or status. Because everyone is roughly equal in their ability to kill one another (even the weakest can kill the strongest through trickery), no one is ever truly safe. This creates a 'war of all against all,' where no industry, culture, or society can flourish because the future is too uncertain.
Quick Check
What are the five adjectives Hobbes used to describe life without a government?
Answer
Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
In remote mining camps during the Gold Rush with no sheriffs, miners lived in a mini-state of nature. If a miner found a large gold nugget, they couldn't sleep because they feared their neighbor would kill them for it. This led to the creation of 'Claim Clubs' where miners agreed to follow basic rules and protect each other, trading their 'right to steal' for the 'right to be safe.'
To escape this nightmare, Hobbes argued that rational people would enter a Social Contract. This is an agreement where individuals collectively give up their absolute freedom (the right to do whatever they want) in exchange for security (the protection of their lives). They hand over this power to a 'sovereign' or government, which Hobbes called the Leviathan. The logic follows a philosophical equation:
By agreeing not to harm others, you gain the guarantee that the government will punish anyone who harms you. You lose the 'freedom' to steal, but you gain the 'security' of knowing your own things won't be stolen.
Consider modern countries. There is no 'World Government' with a global police force that can force powerful nations to obey. In this sense, nations exist in a 'State of Nature' with each other. This leads to an Arms Race: Country A builds a missile for 'defense,' so Country B builds two missiles because they don't trust Country A. This is Hobbes' concept of Diffidence (distrust) acting on a global scale.
According to Hobbes, what is the primary motivation for leaving the State of Nature?
Which of the following is NOT one of Hobbes' three causes of quarrel?
In the Social Contract, people keep all of their original rights while the government protects them.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to recall the five adjectives Hobbes used to describe life in the state of nature without looking at your notes.
Practice Activity
Watch a post-apocalyptic movie (like 'Lord of the Flies' or 'Mad Max') and identify which of the three causes of quarrel (competition, distrust, or glory) is driving the conflict.