General Information “The monster and the police. Dexter to Hobbes” by Mark Neocleous, published in Issue 185 of radical philosophy. The purpose of the article is to identify and respond to the similarities of Hobbes’ Leviathan (published 1651) and the current state of police power in bourgeois modernity. In addition to this goal, it examines the idea that the monstrous “Leviathan” enacted by our modern policing system shares many attributes (and thusly some of the monstrous attributes of) the ‘…the human dross’ that is associated with the Leviathan 's antithesis in the Bible, as well as in modern society, the ‘Behemoth’, which are humans in their natural state. This state is supposedly a “war of all against all”, that the Leviathan’s imposition
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However, there are various issues with the conclusions that he draws. He states, sometimes in absolute terms, that police power can be summed up often as monstrous. However, barring the social contract theory aspect of security and the willful giving up of rights, his theories do not account very well for those who use police power for good. His view of the police is very negative, and thusly would be hard to reconcile with the positive force that policing can have, including community initiatives, and the promotion of values that are important for a society that is free from violence, abuse, and other anti-social behaviour. However, in the counterbalance of the negative viewpoints of his arguments, his promotion of the ‘monstrous’ actions of the police aligning with Hobbes’ Leviathan does help explain some of the seemingly extra-judicial or illegal activities that the police may take part in. Some examples of this are things like the quickened legalization of water cannons as a form of group dispersion, the usage of undercover police officers in the infiltration of groups, such as Bob “Robinson” having a child with an animal rights activist, and then leaving when his undercover mission was complete. (Casciani, 2014) In these instances, it appears that Neocleous’ theory could be applied and shown to be a possible factor in the misbehaviour of police in certain situations, as well as the police problem as a
However, there are various issues with the conclusions that he draws. He states, sometimes in absolute terms, that police power can be summed up often as monstrous. However, barring the social contract theory aspect of security and the willful giving up of rights, his theories do not account very well for those who use police power for good. His view of the police is very negative, and thusly would be hard to reconcile with the positive force that policing can have, including community initiatives, and the promotion of values that are important for a society that is free from violence, abuse, and other anti-social behaviour. However, in the counterbalance of the negative viewpoints of his arguments, his promotion of the ‘monstrous’ actions of the police aligning with Hobbes’ Leviathan does help explain some of the seemingly extra-judicial or illegal activities that the police may take part in. Some examples of this are things like the quickened legalization of water cannons as a form of group dispersion, the usage of undercover police officers in the infiltration of groups, such as Bob “Robinson” having a child with an animal rights activist, and then leaving when his undercover mission was complete. (Casciani, 2014) In these instances, it appears that Neocleous’ theory could be applied and shown to be a possible factor in the misbehaviour of police in certain situations, as well as the police problem as a