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Pinker frequently points back to Hobbes' Leviathan as a turning point in understanding violence and human societies - that man's "state of nature" is brutish an
by saturdaysaint 12y ago
Pinker frequently points back to Hobbes' Leviathan as a turning point in understanding violence and human societies - that man's "state of nature" is brutish and violent and that a strong "leviathan" government is central to taming the brutish impulses. There's some irony there, but it's no coincidence that the great civilizations of history are by and large marked by sophisticated, powerful governments.
- bsbechtel 12y agoLately, the U.S. Government's 'state of nature' has been perpetual war. I can't account for every great civilization of history, but I know a majority collapsed due to spreading themselves too thin, trying to control additional territory using 'brutish and violent' tactics to gain additional power. I've read parts of Leviathan, and keep in mind his writing is merely 17th century observations of the world from a man who grew up in a bourgeois society in England. There is a very good chance his observations of men in their 'state of nature' are his observations of oppressed commoners in England during this time...those who grew up on the fringes of society and had to steal and resort to violence out of desperation to survive.