On The Political Philosophy Of Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes was a famous British philosopher and political scientist in the 17 thcentury.At that time Europe was experiencing the baptism of the Enlightenment,and the development of early capitalist elements in the the feudal world.In England there was a fierce conflict between the king and the parliament which represented the nobles and the bourgeoisie,and the country was in turmoil.Hobbes acutely perceived the pulse of the socio-historical movement,and developed his political philosophy centered around his social contract theory with a rigorous logic thinking,thorough argumentation,and great originality.Hobbes' s political philosophy was based upon a pessimistic theory of human nature,which suggested that self-preservation and vanity are the fundamental motivations of human behavior.According to Hobbes,before civil society,there was a state of nature,which was actually a state of war full of human conflicts.In order to get out of this predicament,the people reached a social contract to establish the state government,and entered a civil society.In this process,in order to achieve the long-term self-preservation,the people would need to transfer all power to the sovereign,who will in turn protect their rights to life,liberty,and prosperity.Thereby Hobbes vindicated the legitimacy of the absolute monarchy.However,at the same time Hobbes argued against the divinity of the king's power.In his political Philosophy Hobbes held that the establishment of state government was to protect the individual rights,and thereby he is considered a pioneer of modern individualism and liberalism,and the founder of modern social contract theory.In Hobbes' political philosophy there are certain Limits concerning his time and social position,for instance,the individual rights to life and property he wanted to protect were primarily the rights of the capitalists.Hobbes' thought deeply influenced the social contract theories of Locke and Rousseau.Like Hobbes,Locke and Rousseau argued against the divinity of the royal power.They also believed that the legitimacy of state government rest in the consent of the people,and that the establishment of state government was to protect the natural rights of the individuals.However,unlike Hobbes,Locke believed that human nature was originally neither good nor evil,while Rousseau held that human nature was innately good.Furthermore,institutionally,Locke advocated constitutional monarchies,and Rousseau's ideal government was a republic ruled by the people themselves.In this case,theoretically they both surpassed Hobbes.In spite of its certain limitations,in the political philosophy of Hobbes there are still some elements relevant to our political practice today.For instance,we need to put moreemphasis on the individual rights of citizens,to encourage their political participation,and to promote their self actualization.By doing so,we are able to promote the continued development of our country.However,our emphasis on the individual rights does not mean the advocacy of radical individualism.Our aim is to protect the individual rights in accordance with contemporary socialist core values,and to promote the balanced and common development of individual interests and public interests,which is an important characteristic of socialism.