Thomas Hobbes

Tuesday 26.6.07. Sydney, Australia

In a speech to the Sydney Institute last night, Prime Minister Howard described the conditions in some remote indigenous communities as being akin to "a Hobbesian nightmare of violence, abuse and neglect." (see an excerpt of the speech here http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/duty-of-care-justifies-governments-action/2007/06/25/1182623817831.html.)

Howard's speech was designed to explain why the federal government has felt compelled to intervene in what is historically an issue for the NT government. But his speech got me thinking, who is this Hobbes fellow and what's this nightmare he's banging on about.

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was a British philosopher who spent much of his life in self-imposed exile in Paris. He is widely credited for establishing the agenda for much of the Western political philosophy that followed the publication of his magnum opus, Leviathan.

Hobbes came late to philosophy - it wasn't until 1637 that he considered himself a true philosopher and scholar. In 1640, as tension between Royalists and Parliamentarians escalated in the lead up to the English Civil War, Hobbes moved to France so he could work without the risk of falling foul of either side.

In 1642 Hobbes was joined by other Royalist exiles who had also fled to Paris to escape persecution at the hands of the dominant Parliamentarians. They inspired Hobbes to start work on his theory of civil government, and thus Leviathan was born. (Leviathan is a biblical reference and means 'monster')

During the writing process, Hobbes nearly succumbed to a serious illness but recovered and in 1651 Leviathan was published. The reaction to it was immediate. The secular nature of the work infuriated his former Royalist colleagues, not to mention those dangerous French Catholics. Hobbes, fearing for his life in Paris, requested asylum from the Parliamentarians in London. Luckily he was granted it. (obviously the Brits were lacking their own version of the Pacific Solution.)

So, what was Leviathan all about, and how does it relate to the state of remote indigenous communities in 21st century Australia? Put simply, Leviathan is Hobbes' attempt to devise a theory of a social contract. Hobbes posits that the state of nature means each of us has a right to everything in the world but that, due to scarcity of 'things', there is a constant war of all against all to secure that right. He goes on to describe a life lived in the state of nature as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." How can one prevent this bleak outcome? According to Hobbes there is but one way. We must surrender our individual powers to the authority of an absolute sovereign and enter into a social contract. As Australian citizens, we are all signatories to a social contract - we live under a complex of laws that restrict human behaviour and make life, well, more livable.

Obviously, Howard believes the social contract has been voided in these remote communities and the only way to avoid continued brutality is to act immediately and decisively. Agree with him or not, Howard's actions are a drastic attempt to restore the social contract that Hobbes believed was so important in achieving a desirable standard of existence. That's an outcome we should all be hoping for.

[21/8/07- In his continuing series on religion for Slate.com, iconoclast Christopher Hitchens and author of God Is Not Great: How Religions Poisons Everything (see 2007 reading list), mentions Hobbes in this article]