Other editions of book Leviathan: Or the Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclasiasticall and Civil

In their substantial introduction, the editors examine all previous editions of Leviathan, throwing light on its history, calling into question the assumptions of previous editors, and thus providing an entirely new picture of its production. Through these new perspectives they are able to offer the first complete critical edition, one that takes proper account of the book's publishing history and of Hobbes's own wishes. The result is as definitive an edition of Leviathan as modern scholarship can provide.

Hobbes proposed that the natural basic state of humankind is one of anarchy, with the strong dominating the weak. Life for most people, he said, was 'solitary, poore, nasty, brutish and short'. Therefore, our one natural right is of self-preservation.In order to remove that basic fear between individuals or groups, Hobbes suggested that people should 'contract' with a protector as their sovereign. Under this social contract individuals give up all rights, while those of the protector are absolute. He did not, though, believe in divine right. Hobbes's key point was that any protector was there by specific agreement with their subjects.Hobbes's concept of a social contract was taken up by others who developed it in different directions, men such as Algernon Sidney, and most notably John Locke, author of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690). Leviathan is now recognised as a cornerstone of Western political philosophy, particularly in its ideas of a 'social contract' between ruler and ruled.

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 Latinedition 1668). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. 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. Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. 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.

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). Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan. 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. Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the English Civil War (1642–1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign. 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.