--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A precursor to the Social Darwinists…" description: "\"“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 brut..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/rebecca-solnit-569_hobbes_a-precursor-to-the-social-darwinists-hob_1049457.png" --- # A precursor to the Social Darwinists, Hobbes argued from… ![“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…” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/rebecca-solnit-569_hobbes_a-precursor-to-the-social-darwinists-hob_1049457.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/rebecca-solnit-569_hobbes_a-precursor-to-the-social-darwinists-hob_1049457.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c7a/rebecca-solnit-569_hobbes_a-precursor-to-the-social-darwinists-hob_1049457.png) > ““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...”” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darwinists Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darwinists-hobbes-2500646/) [Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbes/) [Hobbes Argued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbes-argued-2500645/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Life Of Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-of-man/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social contract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-contract/) [Social Darwinists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-darwinists-2500647/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Start with that. Chaos. No control, no law, no government at all. Like being in the arena. Where do we go from there? 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I don't want the issue of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-world-of-a-comic-strip-ought-to-be-a-special-place-with-its-own/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [We want everything in a hurry because our primary aim must be survival in the short term. Long term thinking has seemed like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-butler-bowdon/we-want-everything-in-a-hurry-because-our-primary-aim-must-be/) [Tom Butler-Bowdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-butler-bowdon/) > [Calvin: Know what I pray for? Hobbes: What? 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That was considered completely normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/i-never-felt-ostracized-or-made-to-feel-strange-by-obsessing-over-the/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [“In Hobbes’ state of nature, when a male individual conquers (contracts with) a female individual he becomes her sexual master and she becomes his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-pateman/in-hobbes-state-of-nature-when-a-male-individual-conquers-contracts/) [Carole Pateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-pateman/) > [A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/a-day-can-really-slip-by-when-you-re-deliberately-avoiding-what-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. 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Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More Hobbes quotes > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. 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That was considered completely normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/i-never-felt-ostracized-or-made-to-feel-strange-by-obsessing-over-the/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [Hobbes clearly proves, that every creature Lives in a state of war by nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/hobbes-clearly-proves-that-every-creature-lives-in-a-state-of-war-by/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Calvin: Know what I pray for? Hobbes: What? Calvin: The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-know-what-i-pray-for-hobbes-what-calvin-the-strength-to-change/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [We want everything in a hurry because our primary aim must be survival in the short term. 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It's not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/aristotle-thought-that-humans-are-rational-animals-and-hobbes-thought/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) [Browse all 101 Hobbes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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. 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