Justifying the state: Escaping the State of Nature

Trading Liberty for ProtectionHobbes

Review: Hobbes’ State of Nature

• In the state of nature……• There is no authority above humans sooooo• There is no morality, no right and wrong, justice• All are equal (no “natural” hierarchy/roles) • All are AFRAID of violent death• All are solitary, isolated individuals • Each is free to preserve his own life• Nature is characterized by scarcity

Hobbes’ Dim view of Human Nature

• People are never satisfied• We don’t trust each other—we have to be always

on guard. That is stressful• We are not naturally cruel or selfish but we are

afraid that someone will take what we want• We are rational—we should want peace but can’t

get it in the state of nature• So we take the next best thing: To get what we

desire, we must become more powerful than those who would take our stuff

Why Human Nature leads to war in the state of nature

• We all seek more power and more stuff• We can’t both have the same thing and are

scared, so we become enemies• Rational human action will make the state of

nature a battleground• Even if we have

nothing!

Hobbes’ Political Economy

• No Industry• No navigation• No Trade• NO ECONOMY!

The Hobbesean Fallacy

• The premise of primordial individualism

?

Science and human nature

• biology and anthropology: there was never a period in human evolution when human beings existed as isolated individuals

• Indeed, the most basic forms of cooperation predate the emergence of human beings by millions of years

Science, state of nature, and human nature

• two natural sources of cooperative behavior: kin selection and reciprocal altruism.

Is cooperation more natural than competition? Is Hobbes Wrong?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g

We are connected by emotion, not rationality

• Our feelings about justice and injustice are often tied to our allegiance to “community”

• Anger, shame, guilt, and pride

• Metanorms: “moralistic aggression”—We want to see that “Justice is

Done!

Reciprocal altruism and Polanyi’s political economy

• Individual self-interested rationality was imposed on us.

• The economy is submerged in social relationships• Material goods are only valuable insofar as they

serve those relationships• The economic system is run on non-economic

motives– No profit– Giving freely is a virtue– Redistribution preserves community– And we don’t need a central Authority to tell us this!

If rational self-interest is not “natural,”

• Could a “gift economy” satisfy human needs and desires?

Anarchism

• The scientific argument for anarchism.. An alternative to Darwin

• What’s the problem with this argument?• How would the Anarchist or Rousseau

respond to Hobbes?• Could some other social institution replace

the state?• But isn’t this all the same as states?

Justifying the state: What are the ultimate goals?

• Ask a politician!• Ask him how our loss of freedom can be

justified! OK here are some justifications– Consent: The social contract– Power is its own justification– Enlightened leadership brings order and justice– The General Will– Happiness

What is a state?

• More than a spontaneous, natural community• A sovereign with the right to make laws and

punish those who don’t obey• The sovereign must possess:

– Territory– People living in the territory– Power over the people in the territory– A monopoly on violence

Consent: The Social Contract

• Voluntary consent• Where did it come from?

– “original consent” A historical origin– Tacit consent– Hypothetical consent

Hobbes: Liberty is necessity—freedom to obey the “Laws” of Nature

• Because of the state of nature being a state of war, we have to have a new understanding of liberty. "Liberty and necessity are consistent; as in the water, that hath not only liberty, but a necessity of descending by the channel; so likewise in the actions which men voluntarily do: which, because they proceed from their will, proceed from liberty." (p. 161) "In the act of our submission consisteth both our obligation and our liberty." (p. 164)

Hobbes’ Social Contract: Bring on Leviathan!

• The contradiction of Hobbes’ Natural Law• Collective vs. individual rationality• Hobbes’ collective Rationality? Create an all-

powerful sovereign who can punish those who break the law of nature.

• Hobbes’ political economy: Leviathan will destroy your freedom but not your prosperity

But will the social contract to create a Leviathan end violence?

• No! Why?• The state of nature exists in international politics.

Why?• Birth of Leviathan moved the problem of violence

to a higher level!• Reasoning: Lack of a central government--insecurity self help for survival-amassing power-military force--others watch and feel insecurebuild up their own power and force-security dilemmawar (get your enemy before he gets you)

Example: The Melian Dialogue

• Athens: Justice is only possible among equals (5.89)

• Melos: justice is the “common protection” of all (5.90)

• Athens: we are content to take the risk (5.91)

The Melian dialogue

• Athens: It’s in the interest of the weak to yield to the strong (5.91)

• Melos: it’s not in our interest to be slaves – we could remain neutral (5.92)

• Athens: the other option is death; anyway, your neutrality won’t serve our interests (5.93, 5.95)

The Melian Dialogue

• Melos: Athenian policy will create more enemies among neutrals (5.98)

• Athens: our cost-benefit calculations suggest that is the less important risk

The Melian Dialogue

• Melos: it would be dishonorable of us not to try to resist, especially since your empire seems so risky, and since our allies or the gods may find it in the interest to help us

• Athens: hope is not a strategy, and the almost certain outcome of resistance is death; anyway, everyone else (including the gods) would do as we do

The Outcome

• In the end, the Melians prefer to defend themselves and attempt to preserve their liberty, and after some initially successful resistance, are ultimately crushed.

• Did the Melians do the right thing?

The Melian Dialogue

• What does the Melian debate show?1.The corruption of the Athenians by war?2.The truth of the Athenian thesis?3. The untenability of the Athenian thesis?4. The true nature of international relations today?

When there is no state, what is the rule by which we get what we deserve?

• POWER! The lesson of the Melian Dialogue• “We both alike know that into the discussion

of human affairs the question of justice only enters where there is equal power to enforce it, and that the powerful take what they can, and the weak give what they must.”* (5.89)

Political Economy when power is the decision rule (no global “government”)

In reality, does justice matter when there is no sovereign?

– Crude realist (the Athenian envoys at Melos): no, it doesn’t matter

– Idealists: there are limits to the pursuit of mere interest—it will be our downfall

– Enlightened realist (Machiavelli): the pursuit of interest depends on not alienating allies and not making enemies needlessly

Machiavelli: The Enlightened Realist?

• What he thinks of human nature– Criticism of Aristotle– Is human nature “evil” at

its core?– Do people want

freedom?– How are the “natures” of

princes and subjects different?

Machiavelli’s use of instrumental rationality

• He advises the prince to define his goal and calculate the preferable means to meet the goal. To use cost-benefit analysis for everything—to be cunning.

• If you want to be a good person, stay out of politics. If you want to be successful in politics, says Machiavelli, “learn how not to be good.”¹

What is the purpose of the state?

• NOT an institution for the benefit of individuals

• Society exists to serve the state—not the other way around

• The purpose of the state is to perpetuate itself—to survive*

What is the purpose of government?

• To amass power that assures the survival and perpetuation of the state• Outward destruction, expansion, occupation, and keeping

foreign puppets in power*• Something strange about this: “destroying cities is the

only certain way of holding them.” Huh?

• Domestically, amass power by creating social stability– A “republic” is the best form of government

(depending…..)*

Six ways to create domestic stability

• 1. Force– A good army and an economic application of violence

• 2. Fear– It is better to be feared than loved– The Three Bears Rule of Cruelty– Deterrence = public punishments

• 3. Favors to create dependence– Reward loyalty

• 4. Freedom: Rulers will amass power when there is prosperity– Enable everyone to pursue their calling– Protect citizens’ property*– Don’t tax too much and reward those who contribute to prosperity

5. Use any means necessary to expand your power

• Delegate unpopular laws to others• Break promises when it is to your advantage*• Lie through your teeth when necessary• Avoid the hatred of your subjects• Especially the hatred of the most powerful

6. Hype and Hoopla

• Become a good propagandist• Invent or use a state religion to promote

loyalty• Ceremony and celebrations• Project an image (it should not be the real

YOU)

The logical consequence of Machiavelli's thought

• Machiavelli represented a breakthrough in thought: “evil” is legitimized

• Effects seen on the battlefields of 20th century Europe

• The Doctrine of no regard for justice ultimately led to the politics of Lebensraum, two world wars, the Holocaust, nuclear weapons