Hobbes and Bourgeois Society

Hobbes’s preoccupation with the necessity of a scientific and empirical approach in political philosophy led him to claim that his social system based upon human nature is universal and verifiable by everyone. Even though Hobbes was concerned about a universal and timeless model of society, there is some evidence that he gave a seemingly scientific form to the interests of the new emerging upper class. Following Hannah Arendt’s critique of Hobbes’ doctrine, this paper argues that some elements in Leviathan, including Hobbes’ description of human impulse, human felicity, and liberty, indicate that Hobbes “gives an almost complete picture, not of man, but of the bourgeois man. In fact, Hobbes offers a complete model which serves bourgeois ends.