Thomas Hobbes and The Social Contract

1. Introduction
Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed1
The 17th Century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes
is now widely regarded as one of a handful of truly
great political philosophers. Hobbes is famous for his
early and elaborate development of what has come to
be known as “social contract theory”, the method of
justifying political principles or arrangements by
appeal to the agreement that would be made among
suitably situated rational, free, and equal persons.

2. Thomas Hobbes
Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed2
Thomas Hobbes Was a great English Philosopher.
Once a tutor of Charles II of England.
Sought to justify the absolute power of the sovereign in
his book, “ Leviathan”.
 Born : 5 April 1588 in Westport, England
 Education : Hobbes was educated at Westport church
from the age of four.

3. Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed3
 Major Works:
1. De Cive (1642)
2. Human Nature and De Corpore Politico (1650)
3. Leviathan published in (1651)
4. Behemoth (1679)
 Death : 4 December 1679 (aged 91) Derbyshire,
England
(Wikipedia, 2015)
Thomas Hobbes
Cont’d …

4. Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed4
Thomas Hobbes
Cont’d …

5.  The Ruler is not under the contract.
 It is not possible to break the social contract.
 The social contract is permanent and universal.
 Peace and security .
 Priority to major groups.
 Precipitators in the contract are neutral.
 The social contract is free from control.
 It is illegal to break the social contract.
(Agarwal, 1976)
5 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Features of Social Contract

6.  Hobbes believe that people being fed up with adverse
situation and unfavorable conditions, entered into a
contact in order to protect their life and maintain peace.
 Because of this contract people gave up their rights to
one man or assembly of men and authorized him or the
assembly to rule over them.
 According to Hobbes, since the ruler is not the part of
this contract theory, he cannot be compelled to act
according to the conditions of the contract .
(Agarwal, 1976)
6 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Hobbes’ Social Contract Theory

7.  In this way, this contract of which Hobbes is the
exponent enables the ruler to become despot.
 In addition to this, the following are the highlights of
Hobbes’ Social Contract:
 Highlights of Hobbes’ Social Contract
 It is a social contract and so the sovereign is not a party
to it.
 People cannot break the ties of the contract according
to their will because it is based on the sentiment of fear.
(Agarwal, 1976)
7 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Hobbes’ Social Contract TheoryCont’d …

8.  According to Hobbes , man, by nature is not a social
animal and so he nourishes in himself anti-social feeling .
Consequently, his rights would be numerous and
supreme.
 As all person willingly enter into this contract, one
person has no right to break the ties of this contract.
 Hobbes deprives the people of their right to revolt against
the authority of the sovereign.
 Sovereignty is, indivisible, that is say, it cannot be
divided.
(Agarwal, 1976)
8 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Hobbes’ Social Contract TheoryCont’d …

9.  The sovereign is the main source of laws and his
commands are laws.
 This contract is both social and political because it
establishes the society and the government at the
same time.
 The sovereign and not the public reserves the
authority to wage a war or renounce a treaty.
 Since people have authorized and given up all their
rights to the sovereign, liberty will be gift of the
sovereign in whom the will of all is unified.
9 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Hobbes’ Social Contract TheoryCont’d …

10. According to Hobbes Liberty consist in:
I. Whatever the sovereign , that is the law of the land
had not forbidden.
II. What could not by the nature of the original pact, be
given up.
 People entered into the contract for protecting their
lives and if the sovereign fails to protect their lives,
the ties of the contract would automatically be
snapped and people will degenerate into the
primitive stage. (Rahman,1968)
10 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Hobbes’ Social Contract TheoryCont’d …

11.  The sovereign is not a party to the contract. He is not
subjected to any of its conditions. His authority is
absolute and unlimited.
 The contract is binding on the whole community as a
perpetual bond. If the sovereign losses his power and
the country is conquered by another person to who m
the authority is submitted, the subject of the first
authority become the subjects of the conqueror.
(Rahman,1968)
11 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Hobbes’ Social Contract TheoryCont’d …

12.  The conditions of the of the contract clearly indicates
that Hobbes supported the establishment of despotic
monarchy and demanded the unlimited authority of
the sovereign.
 Thus , it is quite clear that Hobbes allows the
individual to disobey the commands of the sovereign
only when his life is in peril, otherwise he expects the
individuals to obey the sovereign under every
condition.
(Rahman,1968)
12 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Hobbes’ Social Contract TheoryCont’d …

13. o Hobbes has been criticized by all the groups of
political thinkers in England. The public criticized this
book because it does not deal with the rights of
people.
o The state of nature as described by Hobbes is
absolutely wrong. History does not certify it. It does
not seem to be correct to say that it was a state of war,
a war of all against all.
o Hobbes has regarded sovereignty as despotic and
unlimited it is deadly against the spirit of democracy.
Despotic Monarchy curtails the individual liberty to a
very great extent.
13 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Criticism

14. o Hobbes has pointed out that man is quarrelsome and
selfish by nature but he is not so.
o According to Hobbes the basis of the state is the
sentiment of the fear but it is not true.
o Hobbes believe that soul object of the state was to
protect people from foreign aggression and internal
disorder, but the state can not do not.
o Hobbes found no distinction between the Govt. and
the state but it was the greatest fault.
14 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Criticism
Cont’d …

15. o Prof. Laski gives the opinion that Hobbes legal view
of right is insufficient for political philosophy.
o Hobbes doctrine of social contract is incomplete and
one-sided because he asserts that only the people and
not the ruler entered into the contract.
o Lastly, Hobbes view that people were selfish and they
authorized and gave up their rights to the sovereign is
absolutely wrong.
(Agarwal, 1976)
15 Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed
Criticism
Cont’d …

16. Presented by Sheikh Saifullah Ahmed16
Thomas Hobbes lived during the most crucial period of
early modern England's history: of the English Civil
War. Social contract theory, nearly as old as
philosophy itself, is the view that persons' moral and
political obligations are dependent upon a contract or
agreement among them to form the society in which
they live.
Conclusion