Political Obligation - Hobbes

 Qn. Discuss the Hobbesian notion of Political Obligation.

Thomas Hobbes, a 17th-century political philosopher, presented a distinctive perspective on political obligation. According to Hobbes, individuals enter into a social contract, surrendering certain freedoms to a sovereign authority in exchange for protection and order. This creates a binding obligation on citizens to obey the sovereign's commands.

Government is chosen by the will of people. So, the political obligation to obey the government itself is derived from the will of people. An absolute sovereign must be obeyed. The basis of the longterm stability of any government is the obligation its people feel to obey its laws.

The Governmental absolutism logically follows from the desire for security. To have a right to something means simply to have the power to attain it. Unless all powers or rights are turned over, there can exist no common sovereign will by which to unite people who otherwise would remain in a state of nature. The act of contracting, demonstrates that the states must be Sovereign.

The natural condition of human kind is a war of everyone against everyone, sovereignty is essential for any kind of political order, and sovereignty cannot be limited without being rendered ineffective. Hence, while the danger exists that absolute government may pass "immoral" laws. The danger is even greater that limited government will be unable to maintain any kind of law and order and society will disintegrate into civil war.

Hobbes suggests that contract is the result of a law of nature "to seek peace, and follow it". In its traditional usage, a natural law is a rule of moral reason. It is basic, even primitive, desire for security that compels people to contract. Then the powers of government must be sufficient to provide for it. Logically, this means that the powers of government must be absolute, since anything short of this would be insufficient to protect people from each other. In sum, there is no legitimate restraints that can be placed upon government.


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