Western Civilization II / Unit 5 WC2 0423 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Hobbes: Leviathan and the Contract for Order
Captions available
The idea
The anchor never names Hobbes. The witness does: in Leviathan Hobbes argued that without a powerful sovereign life is anarchic, and that absolute government by contract best preserves order and even rights. People surrender their natural rights to the state for security.
In practice
The frontispiece: a giant king made of his subjects.
Where people slip
This entry rests on the witness texts, not the anchor.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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