Can Power Be Divided By Thomas Hobbes

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Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher whose political theories became prevalent after the publication of the ‘Leviathan’ (1651). Hobbes’s political philosophy defines the contractual relationship found between the citizens and the law. According to Hobbes, in order for a political authority to maintain power the authority’s rule must be absolute. A lasting political authority must be an absolute authority, therefore Hobbes strongly believes that power can never be divided. According to Hobbes, powers which are divided will mutually destroy one another, which is found to be true throughout history in the case of war given war usually occurs when there is a discrepancy in political ideology or a lack of distributed resources. If …show more content…

According to Hobbes, the people should always receive their motion from the authority of the sovereign and never from an ambitious man who uses flattery and reputation to gain esteem. When the people allow an ambitious man to motivate the masses their obedience to the laws dissolve in order to follow a man whose virtues and designs are untested and unknown, therefore chaos will inevitably erupt. A town must never become too proud according to Hobbes, as this can ignite a large group of people to question the fundamental laws of the state and act out against the sovereign. The pride of the town can lead to conquests which lack unity and therefore burden the commonwealth with riot and vain expense. The sovereign must always be thought of as the public soul which gives life and motion to the commonwealth. Thomas Hobbes political philosophy states that a lasting political authority must be an absolute authority and therefore power can never be divided. Hobbes argues that divided powers will mutually destroy one another, the killing of a king will lead to tyranny, civil war will prevail, greed will dominate and inevitably chaos will erupt if the sovereign does not possess absolute authority. Hobbes ultimately believes that human nature cannot be trusted and therefore all individuals must abide by the contractual relationship found between the citizens and the

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