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How Did Thomas Hobbes Influence The Power Of Government

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Have you ever wondered what our life would be like without a government? The government controls everything, from our country’s maintenance to each and every one of our everyday lives. That wasn’t the case before the Enlightenment period when a philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, developed his ideas. Thomas Hobbes contributed to the world with the idea of a strong central government that now acts as a foundation for many government figures in today's world.
During Hobbe’s time serving the king, he developed his ideas on government power that inspired many governments today. One of Hobbes’ many ideas that are portrayed in today's government system is the trading of absolute freedom for safety, known as the social contract. According to Tom Sorell, “Freedom, according to Hobbes, …show more content…

This is seen in today’s world as the government have control over everyone; from our education system to even our workforce is controlled and managed to the government’s choosing. Another example of Hobbes’ idea being demonstrated in today’s government is its constraint. This idea of constraint or in other words restraint is that the government is allowed to do anything and their power is absolute unless the people's lives feel threatened. Tom Sorell states, “The power of government is absolute unless the people feel that their lives are threatened.” For this reason Hobbe had made it clear that he stood with the people and the government. He believes that the government should have some restraint when it comes to harming the people. It proves that although the government can do anything they want, the people's lives are more important and taken into consideration. Finally, Hobbe's last and final idea of a strong central government is about having a government is better than none. This idea suggests that unless

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