Discussion
LEVIATHAN
libraryofbabel: As an ex historian I love how this famous 350yo work of political philosophy is just sitting at #7 on HN with absolutely no context on why it was submitted.The great debate of political philosophy coming out of the 17th century was between Hobbes (anarchy is horrible, humans aren’t nice to each other, best to give up your freedoms to a strong sovereign/state for protection) and Locke (liberty is best, people are reasonable, limit government). I will say that like most of us I probably side more with Locke but as a pessimist about human nature I find Hobbes’s argument fascinating too.
jemmyw: Is there a middle ground argument? Something along the lines of humans are horrible to one another unless there is a social state that provides reasonable protection, at which point we can afford to be nice?
libraryofbabel: Oh totally. I actually don’t like Locke’s position much either, he’s too libertarian for my taste and (I would like the state to provide healthcare &c &c). But if I had to choose I’d choose Locke over Hobbes.
wahnfrieden: Read Graeber & Wengrow
vivzkestrel: - I have no idea what I am supposed to take from this book or what this book is about- the OP has not put even 2 lines explaining what, where, why, how, when etc- Anyone mind explaining what this book is about?
awestroke: Like "most of us"? America is uniquely anti-regulation
riffraff: It's one of the fundamental texts on societal organization from a few centuries ago. It's been a few decades since I finished school, so I may misremember but IIRC:The author believes that mankind would naturally live in a brutal state of conflict (homo homini lupus est, men are wolves to each other).But mankind can give up their self interest and give their authority to a government/sovereign (the titular leviathan, a giant monster made of multiple people) that can rule with absolute power and guarantee an environment in which we are all better.I cannot for the life of me imagine how this ended up on the HN front page, but it's cool.
