How did Thomas Hobbes explain the need for a sovereign government?

In his seminal work Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes argues that a sovereign government is a necessary device for ensuring collective security and preventing the inherent chaos of human nature.12

Hobbes posits that in a hypothetical state of nature—a condition without political authority—humans are driven by self-interest, competition, and a desire for glory. Lacking a common power to restrain them, this leads to a "war of every man against every man," where life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short".341

To escape this unsustainable condition, individuals enter into a social contract. They rationally agree to relinquish their natural right to govern themselves and transfer it to a sovereign (the "Leviathan"). In exchange for this absolute authority, the sovereign provides physical safety and maintains order. Because humans are self-interested, Hobbes argues that this contract only functions if the sovereign possesses sufficient power to enforce it through punishment, thereby making justice and civil society possible.134