thomas hobbes and absolutism

A detailed Summary of thomas hobbes and absolutism


In the time of Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679), absolutism was the type of government that was practiced and was believed to be the right thing. Absolutism is a system in which one man has absolute power over the people. This absolute power was believed to come from God. The ruler or Monarch, was supposedly carrying out the will of God. Hobbes, who is a Brittish philosopher and political theorist, may have been ahead of his time. He believed in absloutism but his idea of absloutism was different from what was commonly believed.

Hobbes was a believer in the new scientific thought and that mathematical knowledge was the way to the truth. Though Hobbes supported absolutism, he did not believe that the ruler's power derived from God. Hobbes believed in the Common Wealth system.131 This is a system, like absolutism, in which there is one absolute ruler. In Hobbes' system this ruler does not get his power from God, but he gets it more from the people.


Hobbes had a pessimistic view on humans and their behaviors. He believed that humans are basicly selfish and only look out for themselves. He said that it is not human nature to cooperate, but to compete. Even though cooperation would be in the best interest of human beings, they still are in competion. This is because people are not driven by reason, but by passion, according to Hobbes.

It is benificial, according to Hobbes, for all men to give there right to goverenment to one man or one assembly of men. This one man would then have all the power of every man. Then that man with all that power could carry out the will of all men. It would not be possble for this to happen if all men were on there own. Nature competion would occur. Having one leader for all men puts them all on the same page, so more could get accomplished and have less competition.

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Hobbes believes that all people have the same desires and motives. Because of this all people in his sy

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