Hobbesian Sovereignty and the Rights of Subjects: Absolutism Undermined?
Hobbes, in his political writing, is generally understood to be arguing for absolutism. I argue that despite apparently supporting absolutism, Hobbes, in Leviathan , also undermines that absolutism in at least two and possibly three ways. First, he makes sovereignty conditional upon the sovereign's...
| Published in: | Hobbes Studies Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 209 - 231 |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Brill Academic Publishers
2019
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=139906711&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 139906711 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 09215891 5D7Q jtl: Hobbes Studies issn: 09215891 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: 2019 vid: 32 iid: 2 pid: 639 pub: Brill Academic Publishers artinfo: ui: 139906711 10.1163/18750257-03202003 ppf: 209 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 224KB tig: atl: Hobbesian Sovereignty and the Rights of Subjects: Absolutism Undermined? aug: au: Curran, Eleanor affil: Kent Law School, Eliot College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NS, United Kingdom su: Schmitt, Carl, 1888-1985 Political science writing Sovereignty Food sovereignty Rights Emperors sug: subj: Schmitt, Carl, 1888-1985 Political science writing Sovereignty Food sovereignty Rights Emperors keyword: absolutism Hobbes rights sovereignty ab: Hobbes, in his political writing, is generally understood to be arguing for absolutism. I argue that despite apparently supporting absolutism, Hobbes, in Leviathan , also undermines that absolutism in at least two and possibly three ways. First, he makes sovereignty conditional upon the sovereign's ability to ensure the safety of the people. Second and crucially, he argues that subjects have inalienable rights, rights that are held even against the sovereign. When the subjects' preservation is threatened they are no longer obliged to obey the sovereign. Third, there is also a possible limitation on the absolute power of the sovereign in the form of restrictions Hobbes puts in place on what laws he may legitimately make. Finally, Hobbesian absolutism is compared to the absolutism of Carl Schmitt. This exercise demonstrates the limitations that Hobbes places on the power and authority of the sovereign. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Hobbes Studies is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Hobbes Studies holder: Brill Academic Publishers dt: @attributes: year: 2019 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|