Pros And Cons Of Hobbes

The “State of Nature” in this post-9/11 21st Century America is one of self-induced fear, not by the US citizens but by our president. With constant reminders of terrorist threats against the US, as well as the constant state of high alert, the president has placed Americans in a tough place. US citizens are in constant fear and are looking to their government for protection. This idea stems back to the writings of Hobbes in Leviathan. Hobbes critiques the effects of government, or as lack there of, on man and society.

Hobbes first describes man’s state of nature, in which he states that all men are by nature equal in their strengths as well as their minds. He states that even “the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others, that are in the same danger as himself” (Hobbes, 1). This state of equality, however, creates considerable conflict between man because it leads people to seek power. He said ‘if any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies” (1), at this point the men
This world invokes fear in his readers in order to convince them that a central government is necessary. Hobbes states that “the passions that incline men to peace are: fear of death; desire of such things as are necessary to commodious living; and a hope by their industry to obtain them” (3).Bush uses that insecurity to justify his own ideas for government. President Bush believes that without the correct government in place can cause the same results to occur. He uses this idea that government can control people’s actions and protect them as well to instill fear into the hearts of Americans. We will in turn seek the protection of the government, therefore, confirming the ideas presented in Hobbes’ Leviathan. Americans are focused only self-preservation, so because of this we live in constant fear for our