Sovereign Government In Thomas Hobbes Leviathan

In Leviathan, Hobbes seeks to refute the argument of Machiavelli, that the best governments are those of usurpation or those taken and maintained by any means necessary, in order to preserve the sovereignty of government after England had been on the verge of civil war. In order to refute the argument for one in favor of a representative, sovereign government, he begins by describing the reasons for a civil government. He then explains the existence of the natural laws and their applications to governing in order to prove that a sovereign government is the best form. Finally, he lays an idealistic foundation upon which sovereign governments should be built in order to be truly beneficial. Hobbes begins by justifying the formation of a civil …show more content…
A law of nature is defined, by Hobbes, as “a precept or general rule found out by reason by which a man is forbidden to do that which is destructive to his life, or takes away the means of preserving the same, and to omit that by which he thinks it may be best preserved.” This definition, put into simpler terms, says that a natural law is something that should be easily grasped, like common sense, and something that provides an individual with the means to protect his own life. The idea that there is a natural state of warfare, where every man is in conflict with every other man, has already been introduced. This state provides “no security to any man” according to Hobbes, so out of the fear of death and their own, natural, desires for a comfortable life, men are naturally inclined to make peace. “To seek peace and to follow it” is the first of the most basic natural laws. Hobbes then explains that the second law is derived from this idea and that in order to establish peace, a man must be willing to agree with another on the mutual relinquishment of their right to all things. Hobbes calls this agreement a contract, or covenant. This is Hobbes first obvious, direct refutation of Machiavelli’s argument. Machiavelli believes that the only reason that a man should make a covenant with another man is if it would benefit himself in the future. However, Hobbes says that these agreements are always necessary for peace. More importantly, Hobbes introduces the third natural law which is also directed at Machiavelli. Hobbes states that the third law is this, “That men must perform their covenants made.” Machiavelli argued that, “A prudent lord, therefore, cannot observe faith, nor should he, when such observance turns against him, and the causes that made him promise have been eliminated.” This is his way of saying that the upholding of agreements between men, or covenants, does not matter. Hobbes argues exactly the