progressivism, individualism, and the public ... - Telmarc Group

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PROGRESSIVISM, INDIVIDUALISM, AND THE PUBLIC
INTELLECTUAL
Hobbes was somewhat of a strange Public Intellectual. A product of the 17th century,
beset by the regicide and Cromwell, a supporter of the monarchy, and an apologist for the
King and his kingdom, Hobbes wrote Leviathan as a polemic to justify the reinstatement
of the King and the recognition that all the Kings subjects owed allegiance to the state. In
a sense he was a quintessential progressive, with the King being the embodiment of the
state, and the King being the facilitator of the Progressive mandates.
4.1.1 Hobbes and Humanity
Hobbes saw humanity as an unstable mass with the potential for explosive warfare and
unable to reach and consensus amongst themselves without the strong hand of
government 52 . To Hobbes, he saw this uncontrollable mass as the prime reason for
establishing a government and further he saw the king and a strong central government as
the only logical consequence.
As Miller states as he discusses Hobbes 53 :
"We need political authority, then, because it gives us the security that allows us to trust
other people, and in a climate of trust people are able to cooperate to produce all those
benefits that Hobbes listed as signally lacking in the "natural condition"."
Trust means predictable. Namely if A happens then the consequence is B. For example if
I enter into an agreement with someone and they agree to B if I do A, and when upon
completion of A they fail to do B will the Government enforce that? Not necessarily. The
Government may have its own ideas and thus the trust that Miller speaks of as the bond
which is necessary to establish a government is missing. In fact it is infrequent that any
one trust their government. As Hobbes had a low opinion of human nature the
individualists have a low, and often well deserved, opinion of the government.
Thus we call Hobbes the proto progressive because of his distrust of people and his view
that a strong government, with a king, was the only solution to an effective government.
Hobbes was clear in that you could not trust the people to deal with themselves, the
government was essential.
As Miller quotes Hobbes as regards to Hobbes view of humanity 54 :
"In such conditions, 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
52 Miller, Political Philosophy, p. 22.
53 Miller, Political, p. 23.
54 Miller, Hobbes, p./ 22.
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