The State of Nature

STATE OF NATURE
State of Nature as described by Thomas Hobbes represented a hypothetical condition that existed before government was introduced by human.

He argues that, the hypothetical state of nature is characterized as a state of anarchy. During the time when men lived without common power to exercise control, they are in a condition called "war"; and such a war as is of every man against every man.

In the state of nature, everyone is at liberty to do anything he wills to preserve his own life even if it means doing some few assassinations.

There's continual fear of danger of violent death and the life of man is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.

In the state of nature, there's distrust, anarchy, conflict and war is certainly inevitable where human condition is adverse. In natural state, every woman, man and child is endangered by everybody else, life is certainly at risk.

Nobody can be confident about his or her security and survival for any reasonable length of time. People are living in constant fear of each other. There's no escape from international insecurity.

Hobbes contends that, humans naturally are pleasurable elements. Human nature consists of passions like joy, pain, fear, hope, indignation and ambition. Flowing from this, men will always want to get the best passions, mostly at the detriment of others.

Men's innate desires and his natural aversion of death motivate him to seek more power to satisfy the desires. This relentless desire for power creates a war situation and makes the condition in the state of nature chaotic.

Men, seeing the need to commonly secure freedom and collectively provide security, enter into an agreement and have a single authority to exercises some form of control to bring peace. This brought about what has been commonly known as "The Social Contract".

Watch the space for another episode.
Courtesy; Dr. Evans Aggrey Darkoh
Snr. Lecturer
Political Science Department
University of Ghana.
General Sammie
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