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The Hobbesian State of Nature Among Nations

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The Hobbesian State of Nature Among Nations THE HOBBESIAN STATE OF NATURE AMONG NATIONS By Brianna Sargent A capstone project submitted in partial fulfillment of graduation from the Academic Honors Program at Ashland University April 2019 Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rene Paddags, Associate Professor of Political Science Additional Reader: Dr. Gregory McBrayer, Assistant Professor of Political Science i Abstract The state of nature is a dangerous place filled with violence and confusion. For this reason, the state of nature only exists for short times among individuals, yet it has lasted between nations. This begs the question, if the state of nature is so dangerous, why does it still exist on the international stage? This question is answered first by understanding the Hobbesian state of nature, explaining the laws of nature and rights of the sovereign, comparing the international state of nature to the individual state of nature, and finally, exploring the possibilities of nations exiting the state of nature. Through Thomas Hobbes’ analysis of the state of nature, it can be seen that the international state of nature does not behave the same way it does among individuals. The mild international state of nature remains due to lack of fear for survival. ii Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..Page 3 Section One: The Hobbesian State of Nature…………………………………………..Page 7 Section Two: The Laws of Nature and the Rights of Sovereigns………………………Page 14 Section Three: Individual State of Nature vs. International State of Nature……………Page 33 Section Four: Why there is no Global Sovereign……………………………………….Page 44 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………Page 51 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………..Page 55 Author’s Biography………….………………………………………………………….Page 56 iii Introduction 3 The state of nature exists when there is no presence of a legitimate authority among a group of people. This state of nature does not exist for very long. When the state of nature is being examined, it is presumed to be early in human history before governments and societies were established. This was a pre-historic time in which humans were living on their own or in small family units, while living the hunter and gatherer lifestyle. The land sustained them, and they did not stay in one area for very long at a time. This was before farming began, before tribes were established, and before humans were populace enough to be forced to live together. As this was pre-historic, there is no actual documentation about the state of nature while it existed, but rather the state of nature is thought back upon and used as an explanation as to how humans began to live in societies together. The state of nature no longer exists among individuals; therefore, it is now a thought experiment that many thinkers tackled, most prominently, Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. These theories and more can be seen in other, more modern media such as the book The Lord of the Flies. Although all of these theories and stories differ slightly, they all serve to explain why humans now live in organized communities in the modern era. The state of nature no longer exists except in certain circumstances. This fictional example of “The Lord of the Flies” is about when a group of humans exit civil society together which causes a modern- day state of nature. In this story, a group of people is stranded in the wilderness that plunges them into the state of nature. This state of nature is often resolved quickly by a person taking charge of the group or by rescue. However, the spot of time between being stranded and allowing one of their fellow members to rule the group is the state of nature. The only other place the state of nature is preserved is in international relations. Individuals cannot survive without society, but if the state of nature is so dangerous, why does it remain in existence in the international realm? This preservation of the international state 4 of nature is curious because it has been enduring. Every study on the state of nature has agreed upon the fact that the state of nature is unstable and dangerous, and that it is human nature to exit the state of nature as quickly as possible. Countries have not formed an international government or even a regulatory system to keep other nations in line. According to Hobbes this means that there is no justice between nations as they are all at war by remaining in the state of nature. If the state of nature of individuals were analogous to the state of nature among nations, there would be no separate nations. The countries of the world would come together either in a coalition covenant while each country retains some of its own sovereignty, or in the joining completely of separate nations to create one sovereign to rule the entire world. Neither of these options have been even considered as an exit to the international state of nature, and frankly, these options read as the antagonist’s plotline in a science fiction story. Nations are not even making moves toward developing a way to exit the state of nature. The idea of a world government seems laughable, yet according to Hobbes’ theory of the state of nature, it is the safest state in which to exist. The state of nature does not seem to be a problem between nations as it is between individuals. For individuals, the state of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” (89). Individuals spend their lives in the state of nature simply surviving. They do not create anything spectacular and they do not live for long. Nations can thrive on their own. Although some falter, there is nothing preventing a nation from becoming powerful and unstoppable completely by itself. Individuals cannot last in the state of nature: for nations, on the other hand, staying in the state of nature is simply how nations interact to preserve their own sovereignty. Nations remain individual actors on the world stage. Even when they do interact. They preserve their sovereignty above all else, even their survival in some cases. 5 This is because the state of nature does not affect nations the way it affects individuals. The international state of nature is mild as nations to not face the same fear as individuals do in the state of nature. Nations do not exist the same way humans do which takes away some of the natural weakness that comes with having a moral body. The state of nature exists between nations, but it does not behave the same way it does among individuals, which is why countries have not entered into covenants with each other to protect their well-being. They do not have enough fear to warrant the exit from the state of nature. This is analyzed through understanding the state of nature for individuals, the laws and rights in the state of nature, how the individual state of nature compares to the international state of nature, and what the world would look like if the international state of nature would cease to exist. 6 Section One: The Hobbesian State of Nature 7 The Hobbesian state of nature is brutal. Men are constantly battling each other for food, resources, and defense. Even the strongest men are perpetually in danger because there is no justice and no way to be certain about one’s own safety. Hobbes states that in the state of nature men are naturally equal in their bodies, minds, and hopes. Each person has the same bodily weaknesses, the same basic mental capacities, and the same will to survive. This can be difficult to believe as equality is rarely seen in this sense today. Some men are skilled in bodily strength and some are skilled in intellectual capacities. This difference can hardly be described as equal; because despite whatever physical abilities may offer advantages to those who are stronger, every human body has the same weakness. Even the strongest man alive is still a man, and the human body requires sleep. Hobbes states, “…as that though there bee found one man sometimes manifestly stronger in body, or of quicker mind then another; yet when all is reckoned together, the difference between man, and man, is not considerable… For as to the strength of body, 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 himselfe.” (Hobbes 87) Men who are weaker can still conquer those stronger than them by forming a group of other men or by secretly attacking while the strong man is sleeping or incapacitated. Through the power of numbers or secret intervention, weak men become stronger than the men who are strong of body. Human ingenuity conquers strength. Humans are equal in the fact that they have the mind to take down others because all humans have the same bodily weaknesses. The weaknesses that the human body presents are naturally equalizing. The mind is even more equal than that of the body because in the state of nature, intelligence is simply that of prudence. “For Prudence, is but Experience; which equall time, equally bestowes on all men, in those things they equally apply themselves unto” states Hobbes to explain that men in the state of nature have the same experiences which allow them to have equal facilities of the mind (87). Because knowledge is 8 just experience in the state of nature, humans experience the same things while trying to survive and are therefore equal. After humans exit the state of nature and have the bodily security enough to pursue education of the mind, this equality ceases to exist.
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