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How did the English Civil Wars influence Hobbes's ideas about law and political order?
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Philosophy of law
Plato, marble portrait bust copied from an original of the 4th century bce; in the Capitoline Museums, Rome.
Thomas Hobbes’s political and legal philosophy was profoundly shaped by the turbulence of the English Civil Wars (1642–1651), an era of chaos that he viewed as a cautionary example of the dangers of disputed sovereignty.12
Witnessing this period of near-anarchy, Hobbes concluded that the primary purpose of government is to prevent the "war of all against all"—a state of nature characterized by constant fear and violent death. His ideas were influenced by the following factors:32
- Indivisible Sovereignty: Hobbes argued that civil war is often caused by divided authority. To ensure peace, he insisted that sovereignty must be absolute and undivided, serving as the supreme interpreter of law and commander of the state.31
- Law as Command: Influenced by the need for clear, authoritative guidance to avoid conflict, Hobbes developed a command theory of law. He rejected the reliance on "immemorial" common law, arguing that law must be a public, intelligible command from the sovereign to be effective.2
- Social Contract: He theorized that political order arises when individuals collectively trade their natural liberty for the security provided by a sovereign, who enforces the peace.31
Ultimately, Hobbes viewed effective, centralized government as the only bulwark against the destructive instability he observed during the English Civil Wars.2