Description Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil-commonly referred to as Leviathan-is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668). com). wsiehouse-classics. (more on www.
Hobbes wrote that civil war and the brute situation of a state of nature ("the war of all against all") could only be avoided by strong undivided government...
Written during the English Civil War (1642-1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign.
Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli\'s The Prince.
The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory.
Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan.
Description Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil-commonly referred to as Leviathan-is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668)