The State Of Nature In Hobbes's Leviathan

Hobbes doesn’t argue for anarchy but against as evident in his book Leviathan as he criticizes it heavily because what Hobbes refers to as the state of nature is what he believes is the natural condition of people and in this form he believes the strong exploit the weak naturally and he believes the only way in which everyone can be equal is if there is an authority in power to govern people. So to answer the essay question his argument doesn’t state that anarchy rests on the notion that ‘the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others that are in the same danger with himself’ but he is simply saying if people exist without any form of authority the standard of living would be extremely low as there would be no rules governing how people live and thus they can commit atrocities against each other without any retribution.

To what extent can his analysis of the ‘the state of nature’ be applied to the current International system in which there is one state, the U.S., which is much more powerful than the rest

His state of nature can be applied to

The United States of America became the world’s sole superpower after the submission of the Soviet Union at the end of the cold war; its role in international politics is always being questioned. Some regard it as imperialist, hegemonic whist others argue that it brings order on an international scale.

His ideas have helped influence today’s international relations between countries and this is evident with the US being acknowledged as the sole superpower and being responsible for enforcing international laws. As such his ideas are responsible for people and state pursuing mutual-co-operation with each as they realize it’s more beneficial. Therefore his idea about the state of nature are