Among the great figures of Western political philosophy, Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) stands as one of the most influential thinkers in shaping the modern conception of sovereign power.
His masterpiece, Leviathan (1651), remains one of the most profound and controversial analyses of the relationship between power, liberty, and security.
Hobbes lived through an era of civil war, revolution, and political collapse. The chaos of 17th-century England — especially the conflict between the Parliament and King Charles I — led him to ask a timeless question:
How can order and peace be preserved among inherently self-interested human beings?
Hobbes’ answer was radical. Only a strong, absolute, and undivided authority — symbolized by the “Leviathan” — can prevent humanity from falling into barbarism and the “war of all against all.”
This article explores Hobbes’ absolutist conception of the Leviathan, the philosophical foundations of his theory, and its lasting relevance in political thought.
1. Historical Context: Fear, Chaos, and the Birth of the Modern State
To understand Hobbes, one must begin with his historical context.
The 17th century was marked by religious wars, political instability, and violent revolutions across Europe.
In England, the Civil War (1642–1651) pitted the royalists against the parliamentary forces led by Oliver Cromwell, resulting in the execution of King Charles I and the brief establishment of a republic.
Hobbes witnessed firsthand the collapse of authority and the descent into anarchy.
From this experience came his central conviction: humans, left to their own devices, tend toward conflict.
Without a central power to restrain them, societies inevitably descend into chaos.
Thus emerged the need for a Leviathan, a political entity so powerful that it could ensure peace, stability, and survival for all.
2. Human Nature According to Hobbes
At the core of Hobbes’ political theory lies a pessimistic view of human nature.
In Leviathan, he portrays man as driven by desire, fear, and competition.
All men are naturally equal — not in virtue, but in vulnerability. Each possesses the ability to harm or kill the other.
Hobbes famously summarized this in Latin:
“Homo homini lupus” — man is a wolf to man.
Without a higher authority, individuals exist in a state of nature — a condition without law, morality, or justice.
Here, every person is both judge and executioner, leading to a life that is:
“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
In Hobbes’ view, political order does not arise from innate goodness or cooperation, but from a rational fear of death and the desire for self-preservation.
3. The State of Nature and the War of All Against All
Hobbes’ state of nature is not meant as a historical period, but as a theoretical condition illustrating human behavior in the absence of law.
In this condition, everyone has a right to everything (jus in omnia), creating an inevitable conflict of interests.
Because there is no common authority, there is constant war, not necessarily of battles, but of suspicion and fear.
Each individual acts defensively, preemptively, to survive.
The only escape from this cycle is through the social contract — a mutual agreement among individuals to relinquish their natural rights in exchange for protection under a common sovereign.
4. The Social Contract: The Foundation of Political Power
The social contract is the cornerstone of Hobbes’ political philosophy.
Men, driven by fear and reason, agree to submit their natural rights to a sovereign authority capable of ensuring peace.
“I authorize and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition — that thou give up thy right to him, and authorize all his actions in like manner.”
This covenant creates the State, where the sovereign becomes the ultimate source of law and power.
Importantly, the sovereign is not part of the contract — he is its product.
Once established, his power is absolute and cannot be revoked.
Thus, the Leviathan arises: a mortal god endowed with the authority of all its subjects.
5. The Leviathan: The State as a Mortal God
The title Leviathan comes from a biblical sea monster, a symbol of immense power and invincibility.
Hobbes uses it to represent the sovereign state, a collective body made of all individuals united under one authority.
The famous frontispiece of the book, engraved by Abraham Bosse, depicts the Leviathan as a giant human figure composed of countless tiny people — the citizens — holding a sword and a scepter, symbols of temporal and spiritual power.
The message is unmistakable:
The sovereign’s power comes from the collective will of the people, but once formed, it is indivisible and absolute.
Only such overwhelming power can prevent society from collapsing back into chaos.
6. Sovereign Power: Law, Authority, and Obedience
For Hobbes, sovereignty must be absolute to be effective.
The sovereign — whether a monarch or an assembly — must be the supreme lawgiver, judge, and guardian of peace.
He is not subject to the laws he enacts because he is the source of those laws.
In modern terms, Hobbes laid the groundwork for legal positivism: laws derive their legitimacy not from morality or divine will, but from the authority of the sovereign.
What is lawful is what the sovereign commands.
This doctrine justifies unconditional obedience: even a harsh ruler is preferable to civil war.
Rebellion, except in cases of direct self-defense, is always illegitimate.
7. Hobbes and Modern Absolutism
While Hobbes was not the first to defend absolutism — thinkers like Jean Bodin had already justified the divine right of kings — he was the first to ground it in secular and rational terms.
The Hobbesian State does not rest on divine sanction, but on a social contract born from human necessity.
Politics, for Hobbes, becomes a science of order and survival rather than a moral enterprise.
This marks a turning point: the emergence of the modern state as an artificial construct, a human creation designed to guarantee security.
In this sense, Hobbes is rightly called the father of modern political philosophy.
8. Liberty and Security: The Hobbesian Paradox
One of the most debated aspects of Hobbes’ theory is the relationship between freedom and security.
At first glance, Hobbes seems to sacrifice liberty in favor of authority.
Yet, for him, true freedom exists only where the law protects life.
“Liberty is the silence of the law.”
In a state of war and disorder, no one is truly free because fear dominates all actions.
Thus, the Leviathan does not destroy freedom — it makes it possible.
Only under a strong authority can individuals enjoy the stability necessary for peaceful coexistence.
This tension between liberty and security remains a central dilemma in modern democracies, especially in debates on surveillance, national security, and individual rights.
9. Religion and Power: The Leviathan as a Mortal God
Another key dimension of Hobbes’ Leviathan is the relationship between religion and politics.
Living in a deeply religious age, Hobbes argued for a secular and unified state where spiritual and temporal power are not divided.
The sovereign, he maintained, must also be the head of the Church.
Dual authority — between Church and State — leads to civil war.
Thus, the Leviathan is described as a “mortal god,” ruling the earthly realm, while God remains the immortal ruler of heaven.
In doing so, Hobbes paved the way for the separation of political power from divine authority, a principle that would later underpin liberal political thought.
10. Criticism and Limits of Hobbes’ Theory
From its publication, Leviathan faced strong criticism.
Many accused Hobbes of justifying tyranny and denying human freedom.
John Locke responded with a vision of limited government: for him, political authority derives from the preservation of natural rights — life, liberty, and property.
Power must always remain accountable to the people.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau also rejected Hobbes’ view of man, arguing that humans are naturally good and corrupted by society.
Where Hobbes saw the Leviathan as salvation, Rousseau saw it as oppression.
Despite criticism, Hobbes’ theory profoundly shaped modern political thought — influencing later thinkers such as Carl Schmitt, Max Weber, and Michel Foucault, who explored how power, law, and control define modern societies.
11. The Legacy of the Leviathan in the Contemporary World
More than three centuries later, Hobbes’ ideas remain strikingly relevant.
In a world of wars, terrorism, pandemics, and digital surveillance, the Hobbesian question endures:
How much power should the State hold to ensure peace and security?
Modern states face new “states of nature” — cyberwarfare, misinformation, and global instability — where the absence of regulation can lead to chaos.
The balance between freedom and control remains as fragile as ever.
The Leviathan, once a metaphor for absolute monarchy, now symbolizes the modern administrative and technological state, with its ability to monitor, protect, and govern every aspect of human life.
Conclusion: The Enduring Relevance of Hobbes’ Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan was born from fear — the fear of civil war and human chaos.
Yet, it remains a monumental work of rationality, seeking to transform fear into political order.
The Leviathan stands both as a protector and a threat: the embodiment of safety achieved through submission.
In an age where global crises challenge the authority of governments and institutions, Hobbes reminds us that without a common power, liberty itself becomes meaningless.
Freedom and order are not opposites — they are interdependent.
The art of governance, then as now, lies in maintaining the delicate balance between authority and liberty, between fear and trust — between man and the Leviathan.