Hobbes Quote by Rebecca Solnit
““A precursor to the Social Darwinists, Hobbes argued from th premise that the primordial human condition was a war fought by each against each, so brutal and incesssant that it was impossible to develop industry or even agriculture or the arts while that condition persisted. It's this description that culmintes in his famous epithet "And the life of man, solitary, poor, brutish, and short." It was a fiction to which he brought to bear another fiction, that of the social contract by which men agree to submit to rules and a presiding authority, surrendering their right to ravage each other for the sake of their own safety. The contract was not a bond of affection or identification, bot a culture or religion binding togetehr a civilization, only a convenience. Men, in his view, as in that of many other European writers of the period, are stark, mechanical creatures, windup soldiers social only by strategy and not by nature...””
About This Quote
Source Book: Leviathan, 1651
Hobbes describes humanity’s natural state as a brutal war, justifying a social contract that trades freedom for security under a sovereign.
In simple terms: People need rules to avoid chaos.
Key Takeaway
Accept authority for collective safety.
Themes
social contract
authority
human nature
security
order
Mood
analytical
historical
cautious
Type
political
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- government formation
- legal systems
- community safety
- conflict mediation
- public policy
Key Concepts
political theory
philosophy
history
law
human behavior
Questions to Reflect On
- What limits should be placed on sovereign power?
- How does this view compare to modern democracy?
A Different Perspective
Authority can become oppressive if unchecked.
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