THE WAR OF ALL AGAINST ALL

Thomas Hobbes（1588-1679）described the condition of human beings before there was any organized society as “a war of every man against every man”.He called this condition “the state of nature”,“where the life of man is solitary,poor,nasty,brutish and short.” How did he know that there was ever such a state of nature? Obviously,he had no evidence to prove it.Instead,as an example,he pointed to the fact that the nations of the world are even today in virtually such a state of nature.As these nations are sovereign,that is,recognize no other authority than themselves in deciding their own affairs,so must individuals have possessed at one time unlimited personal discretion and independence in deciding how to treat others.Among nations there is always the threat of war because of “continual jealousies and [therefore] nations are in the state and posture of gladiators;having their weapons,and their eyes fixed on one another;that is,their forts,garrisons and guns upon the frontiers of their kingdoms;and continual spies upon their neighbors;which is the posture of war.” If we want to answer the question “Why should I obey？”,Hobbes would point to his vivid description of the treacherous conditions of life in the state of nature.What makes life so hazardous is the unpredictable behavior of each person.Because each person in the state of nature can decide for himself what is right,there is virtually no limit to what people will do to one another.To avoid this situation,that is,because of fear for one’s safety,people in the state of nature decide to give up some of their independence.They agree among themselves that instead of everyone deciding what is right each person will hand over to a “sovereign”（either an individual or a group）the sole right to establish the rules for social and political behavior.Hobbes called this agreement a “social contract.” Civil society with a system of laws and legal rights begins with this contract.One reason to obey the laws,says Hobbes,is that if everyone reserved the privilege of not obeying,there would be a return to the war of all against all.