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Electing the Leviathan

Thomas Hobbes is equally famous for his description of society without government being a perpetual war and his insistence that said war can be avoided if individuals come together and agree to create and obey a government. Unfortunately for Hobbes, the solution is not as simple as he portrays it to be. One problem is that Hobbes fails to explain how individuals will choose who will be a part of the newly created government. Without a compelling answer to this question, Hobbes cannot describe how individuals escape the perpetual violence and enter into a State. This thesis is an attempt to provide a sufficiently compelling answer to this problem. Though this problem has been addressed by other scholars including Jean Hampton and Peter Vanderschraaf, this thesis differs from previous inquiries by focusing on the role that the qualifications of candidates for sovereign play in an agreement being reached.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/14235
Date22 January 2016
CreatorsMikelman, Jay
Source SetsBoston University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis/Dissertation

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