Ariel Ulrich, Blog Post #3

Law and Force
in conversation with Hobbes's Leviathan

        Chaos and bloodshed. Man versus man. This is what is given as the picture of a place without laws. The “state of nature” as Thomas Hobbes called it, is a place where every man is for themselves. Though we left the state of nature for something better, a society built around the Covenants of Man, or our social contracts or laws, Hobbes argues that we need a force to keep it. Any good villain will tell you that fear of force and consequences is what keeps people in line, but is that always true? Man’s word is not always worthless without the power to enforce it, but instead just as steady when it benefits society as a whole. 

Throughout Leviathan, Hobbes argues that “The notions of Right and Wrong, Justice and Injustice have no place. Where there is no common Power, there is no place. Where there is no common Power, there is no Law: where no Law, no Injustice.”(CHAP. XIII, second to last paragraph) The root of this argument is that without the pressure to follow the rules, and no consequences threatened, there can be no wrong actions, as all are free to do as they please. And he argues they will, because the state of nature is man’s calling. This is not necessarily so as the interests of the common good are not always different from the interests of the individuals. People do not always think fully of only themselves as the good of the majority is often what is good for them. And yet this is still not always the case, as sometimes what we want is not always what is right for everyone, and just because we swear to be good for society’s sake does that mean we will keep that word if there is no fear of consequences? 

Hobbes draws special attention to the idea that with enforceable rules, people will keep their words and stay in line with the placed down laws. “But because Covenants of mutual trust, where there is fear of not performance on either part… are invalid… Therefore before the names of Just and Unjust can have no place, there must be some coercive Power, to compel men equally to the performance of their Covenants, by the terror of some punishment, greater than the benefit they expect by the breach of their Covenant;” (Hobbes. CHAP. XV, third paragraph) This argument translated to a more modern day syntax shows that belief that there must be a threat greater than the reward of breaking the law. This conclusion, while understandable, discredits people and their natures. A man wishes to be good (majority of them anyway) and many know that a man is only as good as their word. So their promises to society to follow the laws should be trusted regardless of there being a force to compel them to do so. 

We know that fear is a motivator and that it can keep people from doing what they want. But this is not the only way. A man’s word is good when the person above them is respected and wants what is best for the majority. Fear of wrath and dire consequences leads to a darker society, one barely hanging on, the kind we see in dystopian novels. It is better to build a society on the foundation of strong trust and common bonds than to have one where the power is unbalanced. Everyone wants to work towards a greater society and a sager one because we all have someone that we want to protect and keep safe and that is something that aligns in us all. It is this trust in one another to do the right thing and keep to the common welfare and respect of each other that supports our laws and not just the force behind it.  

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Penguin Classics, 2017. SparkNotes, https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/leviathan/full-text/. Accessed March 2022.