On Hobbes' Social Contract Theory

Hobbes is regarded as one of the most famous English political philosophers in the seventeenth century. The social contract theory is not only an indispensable part of the Hobbes' political philosophy, but also the backbone of it.When the capitalist ingredient budded and grew in the age of feudalism, and the capitalist market economy was developing in England, Hobbes acutely perceived the trend of history, and his social contract theory makes the individual the base and core of the country, emphasizing the right and interest of individual, it admits the law's function in governmental management, spurns the ecclesiastical power intervention in politics drastically, and let the mundane sovereignty control the ecclesiastical power, so it firstly exhibits the model of the modern state and society to us.But when we focus on the foundation of his social contract theory—the theory of human nature, we will find Hobbes' postulate about human nature is not an abstract from all kinds of society as he believes. His "natural man" is not the opposite from "civilized man", but the reflection of it. It is the reflection of human nature in the early capitalist market society of England. So, the political conclusion base on this theory is not applicable to all kinds of society as Hobbes said, but only to the early capitalist market society. And he fears so much the adversity arosed by the war and the turbulence, and so impressed with the divisive and destructive force of the competition for power, that Hobbes asked for an absolute sovereign to guarantee the peace and security of the country. Therefore, Hobbes finally turns to absolute monarchy for the solution.In Hobbes' political theory, despite its limits, there is still something valuable. It is Hobbes who first developed modern social contract theory completely, and he use the social contract theory to demonstrate the origin, character, and form of the state, this establishes the base of the modern theory of social contract. Then on this foundation the modern social contract theory, grows up in Locke's thought, reaches the zenith in Rousseau's social contract theory, and completed in Kant's thinking. At the same time, Hobbes' social contract theory heralded individualism and western modern liberalism. So, Hobbes is truly a pioneer in the history of the modern political theory.