Why did Hobbes think justice could not exist in the state of nature?

For Thomas Hobbes, justice cannot exist in the state of nature because there is no common power or higher authority to enforce agreements.12

In this hypothetical condition, which Hobbes describes as a "war of every man against every man," individuals are driven by self-interest and possess a natural right to everything necessary for their own preservation. Because everyone is rational and self-interested, they will only keep promises if it is in their interest to do so; without a sovereign to punish those who breach their word, there are no enforceable criteria of right and wrong.132

Consequently, justice is not an inherent quality of human interaction in the state of nature but is a construct that only becomes possible once individuals enter into a social contract and establish a civil society under a sovereign power, such as the Leviathan, which ensures that agreements are kept.12