Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan Addressing a 'Nasty, Brutish, and Short' Life

This essay critically analyses Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, exploring his argument that humanity's inherently conflictual nature necessitates a powerful, centralised government to prevent a "nasty, brutish, and short" existence. Hobbes posits that human equality and self-interest lead to a "war of all against all," necessitating a social contract where individuals surrender some rights to a sovereign for protection. The essay examines Hobbes's laws of nature and the establishment of a commonwealth as solutions, but also critiques the theory's limitations, including its neglect of international relations, oversimplified assumptions about human rationality, and the potential for tyrannical abuse of power by the sovereign. Ultimately, the essay weighs Hobbes's effective response to the state of nature against the significant risks inherent in his proposed solution.