"Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." (Hobbes, 82)

Hobbes certainly depicts a disconsolate picture of a society without government; but how accurate would this description be. It is my view that Hobbes is correct: human nature requires some form of government. This paper will attempt to prove Hobbes’ view of the “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and shor

The creation and enforcement of rules is arguably the most important function that governments carry out to avoid a state of nature. Without the enforcement of rules within a society, individuals have no incentive to obey them. For example, one could simply walk into a store and take what he wanted without any consequence to himself. Murder, theft and other crimes would be widespread; the only thing to stop them would be one’s physical power over another. A less drastic example would be the regulations imposed by governments, for example, restaurant safety inspections. Without these, restaurant owners would have no incentive to maintain sanitary kitchens, and customers would become ill. Without government regulations, many industries could not operate competitively or offer safe and legitimate goods and services to consumers; theft, resource depletion and objectionable business practices would prevent this.

This leads us to the functions that all governments carry out, albeit with varying effectiveness. All governments strive for order; they want to maintain their power within society, and for many societies this means keeping the citizens’ lives content and orderly. Maintaining external order is one of the most basic functions of government, most governments have some form of military to prevent and protect from external attack. Another basic function of government is the enforcement rules of conduct within a society. Governments are also responsible for resolving disputes between members of society in an orderly fashion. Perhaps the most important function that government provides in modern societies is the delivery of services, such as postal service, healthcare, highways, and pensions.

The way to avoid this hostile, pugnacious state is to submit to an absolute sovereign. This submission, by all citizens, is for the overall benefit of society and each of its individuals. Each citizen would gain from a government for several reasons. First, a system of enforcement would better ensure one’s personal safety (from violent attack, for example). Also, government would allow for organizations to successfully operate, for example, by ensuring wages are paid fairly. A modern democratic government would also entitle citizens certain rights and freedoms; such as the right to be free from discrimination. It should be noted that all governments need not ascertain rights, freedoms, and privileges on its public. Hence, we obey government, because without it we would live in constant fear of our enemies. “Hobbes preferred even a bad government to no government” according to Patrick Killough (sec. 2). Any government will impose rules to regulate the activity of its subjects, and thereby prevent the war-like state of nature.

Flanagan, Greg. “Sobering Result: The Alberta Liquor Retailing Industry Ten

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