PSIR Test 02 Model Answers

Ques. 1:- “Hobbes submerged his subjects in the personalities of its origin but claimed
to preach individualism”. Discuss.
● To quote Oakeshott, Hobbesian ‘Leviathan’ is the greatest sole masterpiece of
political philosophy written in the English language. He laid down a systematic
theory of sovereignty, law, human nature and political obligation.
● Hobbesian view about human nature and preservation of life and order constitutes
the foundation of his entire political philosophy .He subscribed to the pessimistic
view of human nature and thus, suggest a basis for the absolute sovereignty of
state.
● Hobbesian ‘Leviathan’ gives the first full statement of theory of absolute and
unlimited sovereignty of the state. Unlike Jean Bodin, who failed to overcome the
medieval mentality and limited the concept of sovereignty only to the secular
sphere of life, Hobbes removed all the limitations imposed by Bodin which hedged
sovereignty . On the basis of his anarchical doctrine of ‘state of nature’ which is
nasty, poor, brutish and short, Hobbes provided justification for his conception of
all powerful state. He has argued that sovereign state cannot accomplish the task
for which it was created unless it is provided with absolute and unrestrained
powers. Therefore, he makes it obligatory on the part of citizen to render
unconditional obedience to the state authority. It is in this context of absolutism,
Hobbes is regarded as the first modern political philosopher.
● However, According to Sabine, the absolute power of the sovereign a theory which
Hobbes name is associated was really the necessary complement of his
individualism. This is because the state is not an end in itself, rather a mean to the
end of individual security and welfare. According to Hobbes, man has transformed
all of his natural rights but has retained the natural right to life or self-
preservation. Hobbes argues that the obligation to obey the sovereign remains
only so long as the sovereign has the power to protect its subjects and it disappears
when the state power losses the capacity to defend them.
● Therefore, in this way, for Sabine , individualism appears to be the most striking
feature of Hobbesian political philosophy. In the same line, Nisbet argues that
despite the rigorousness of his theory, it is the individual whom Hobbes has in his
mind as the embodiment of virtue. Hobbes did not seek the extermination of
individual right but their fulfillment. Nisbet held that in Hobbes ,the greatest claim
of the absolute state lay in its power to create an environment for the individuals to
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pursue his natural ends. It is for this reason, Hobbes is considered to be greatest of
all individualists.
Ques. 2:- “Man living together according to reason without a common superior on
earth with authority to judge them is properly the state of nature” (Locke). Comment.
● Locke is known as father of liberalism. Liberalism stands for limited state. On this
basis of he tries to justify the limited state. In Hobbes, state has absolute power but
in Locke, state is just a matter of convenience.
● Since Locke belong to the period of glorious revolution, his description of human
nature is significantly different from that of Hobbes. Unlike Hobbesian view that
man is egoistic, competitive and selfish by nature, Locke presents the optimistic
view of human nature. According to Locke, reason, passion and the balance
between them forms the pervasive character of human nature. He argues that being
rational, man take care of the interest of others in pursuit of his own self-interest. it
is because reason teacher's men that all being equal and independent, no one out
to harm others in their life, health, Liberty or possession.
● This positive character of human nature allows Locke to device a hypothetical
state of nature that is different from ‘state of war of all against all’ as devised by
Hobbes. According to Locke, state of nature is a state of peace, goodwill, mutual
assistance and preservation. he argued that sociability was the greatest bond
between man in the state of nature.
● Thus, it is evident that the state of nature, According to Locke, is ‘prepolitical’ but
not ‘presocial.’
● According to Locke, The presence of reason, which he described as the ‘spark of
divine nature’, produces great deal of order in the state of nature without the
sanction of common authority. he held that it is this presence of reason in man that
refrains all men from invading others right and destroying the peace. According to
Locke ,in the state of nature the presence of the law of the nature meant that
everyone has the right to punish the transgressor of that law to such degree as it
may hinder its violation.
● Therefore, it is evident that the state of nature in Locke is conception is
prepolitical, but presocial. it is the state where the spirit of goodwill, mutual
assistance and a good will and order prevails, Even without the government. it is in
this context, Dunn argues that it is the profundity, with what Locke understood the
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bearing of philosophy on how men have good reasons to live their lives, that
distinguishes Locke from the majority of philosophers. Thus on the basis of the
description of human nature, he justify the theory of limited state.
Ques. 3:- ‘J.S mill was a champion of democracy, yet he failed to bring the idea of
democracy to its logical conclusion’. Critically examine this statement.
● J.S Mill, one of the greatest exponents of liberty and freedom of speech and
expression, considered democracy as the best form of government. He was a
democrat because he regarded democracy as the best form of government in
which sovereignty or Supreme controlling power is vested in the entire aggregate
of the community. Mill considered democracy as the sole means to achieve the end
of Liberty of thoughts, expression and action, which in turn would develop ,enrich
and expand personality of the individual in the fullness.
● Thus, What makes Mill a champion of democracy is his recognition of the value of
the human personality and his insistence on the development of the individual in
the fullness as the goal of the government. According to Mill it is this influence
upon human character that makes democracy superior to monarchy and
aristocracy which other forms of government tend to produce passive citizens
democracy on the other hand, makes people self-reliant and active citizen to be
able to stand up for their rights.
● However, being a thinker of transitional phase there are elements of inconsistency
in Mills theory as it suffers from the presence of many logical contradictions in it.
In the context of his view of democracy, he considered democracy as the best form
of Government which makes people self reliant citizens. He was distrustful of
democracy and aware of the faults from which it is bound to suffer. it is in this
context, E. L. Wayper called Mills a ‘reluctant’ democrat.
● The reluctancy in Mill’s Idea on democracy is evident in Mill’s argument that
democracy is not a free gift to be distributed and thus like Liberty is not suitable
for all peoples. ACCORDING to Mill, there are certain prerequisite for
democracy, democracy without a democratic culture results into a false
democracy.
● He had a valid apprehension regarding future of democracy if it is introduced in
colonies as it is only applicable where people are mature enough to develop a
democratic culture. in the context of colonial administration, Mill suggested
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‘benevolent despotism’ as the ideal form of government. In this sense Mill is on the
same plane as that of Machiavelli, who held that a republican form of Government
can be introduced only where people are virtuous.
● In addition, Mill recognized that democracy can be transferred into ‘Tyranny of
majority’ or ‘mobocracy’, .based upon the numerical strength of the least educated
class, to overcome this, Mill suggested reforms such as proportional
representation, weighted voting and strengthening of lower house.
● Thus while Mill as a champion of democracy, describes the superiority of
democracy and representative government, he was equally careful about future of
democracy due to its inherent defects, it is this element of inconsistency or
contradiction that projects Mill as a reluctant democrat.
Ques 4:- Explain the difference between political thought, Political Theory and political
philosophy. Elucidate the nature and genesis of political thought.
● Political Theory implies intellectual effort to attend a systematic knowledge about
the ends and means of political action. It is a set of specified concepts that focus to
describe explain and predict political processes, events and institutions. According
to Dante Germino, Political theory is that intellectual tradition which performs the
possibility of transcending the sphere of immediate practical concern and viewing
men’s social existence from a critical perspective.
● The uniqueness, that distinguish Political Theory from other disciplines, lies in the
fact that it does not confine itself within a defined framework and has been
interdisciplinary in nature and scope. In this context, Andrew hacker in his work ‘
Political Theory’ philosophy ideology and Science( 1961), points to the dual nature
of Political theory. According to him every political theorist has a dual role of a
scientist and philosopher.
Political Theory and Political Philosophy
● The relationship between Political Theory and Political Philosophy has been well
enunciated by Scholars of normative theories such as Leo Strauss. According to
Leo Strauss, Political Theory and political philosophy are complementary to each
other and both are parts of political thought. According to Sabine, philosophy has
provided the political theory with its normative & evaluative factor.
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● Thus the complementary relationship between Political Theory and political

philosophy is based on the following ground-
1. Without philosophy, Political Theory becomes meaningless because only
through normative values ,Political Theory can analyses the present and
future both.
2. Political Theory is a philosophy because it not only seek to know the nature
of things but also attempts as do why thing really exist . According to Leo
Strauss, evaluation aspect of a political activity can only be achieved
through interlinking Political Theory and philosophy.
3. According to Leo Strauss, Political Theory is philosophy in the sense that it
attempts to know the nature of political things along with the knowledge of
Ideal political order. He urges that a Political Theory should possess more
than an opinion, which can be achieved only through knowledge of values
such as equality justice, Liberty etc. , which are an indispensable part of
political philosophy.
4. Political philosophy is a part of normative politics theory.
● Thus, it is accurate to say that every political philosopher is a theorist but every
political theorist is not a political philosopher because the scope of Political
Theory is wider.
● According to Crick, Political Theory attempt to explain the attitudes and actions
arising from ordinary political life and to generalize about them in a particular
context. Thus while Political Theory is concerned with the relationship between the
concept and circumstances, political philosophy on the other hand attempt to
resolve or to understand conflicts between Political theories which might appear
equally acceptable in given circumstances.
Political Theory and Political Thought
● Political Theory is sometimes synonymously regarded with political thought and
political philosophy are used interchangeably. However Some commentators tend
to distinguish between these terms.
● Political thought is Considered to be a generalized term which comprises all
thoughts, theory and values of a person or a group of persons or a community as a
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whole. One important aspect of political thought is that it is understood with

reference to be time and space .
● It is in this context, Barker had commented that while political thought is the
immortal philosophy of whole age, Political Theory on the other hand, is the
speculation of a particular thinker.
Ques 5:- ‘The bonds of words are too weak to bridle Men’s ambition, avarice, anger and
other passions without the fear of some coercive power.’ (Hobbes). Elucidate.
● Hobbes, one of greatest political philosopher belongs to the social contract
tradition, which proposes contractual origin of state. In ‘Leviathan’, Hobbes
produced a specific way of interpretation of ‘state of nature in order to provide a
substantial justification for the emergence of the state.
● According to Hobbes, as the man is individualist by nature, self-centered by desire
and power seeker by activity, the ‘state of nature’ is characterized by ‘war of all
against all’. In the absence of a common authority to restrain and check human
egoistic impulses, the condition of life would be nasty, poor, brutish and short,
therefore, everyone would live in the condition of perpetual and aggressive fear
and anarchy in the absence of state.
● Therefore, According to Hobbes, driven by the desire of self-preservation, man
uses his reason to enter into a contract that will offer them security of life to
escape from the state of nature, men agree to surrender all their powers through a
contract to a third party, who was not a party to the contract but received all the
powers of the individuals. According to Hobbes’s, contrary to the natural law, that
prevailed in the state of nature which lack any enforcement mechanism, the
contract leads to the creation of an ‘enforcement mechanism’ in the form of a state.
According to Hobbes the command of sovereign and covenants (or contracts)
without any enforcement mechanism are nothing but mere words.
● Therefore, According to Hobbes, only law made by state is to be treated as law as
it is definite and comes with the power of enforcement. This idea of Hobbes suits
perfectly to the international laws, where the absence of a common authority to
enforce makes the international laws weak and fragile.
Ques 6:- ‘ The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing
the human race, posterity as well as the existing generation, those who dissent from the
opinion still more than those who hold it’. ( J. S. Mill). Elaborate.
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● Mil has been regarded as the greatest exponent of liberty as he has provided the
most systematic view of the concept of liberty. He reemphasized the centrality of
liberty of thought, expression and action at the time when utilitarian’s like
Bentham have subordinated liberty to utility and regarded it as merely a means to
fulfil the materialistic Interest of the individual or the society. “On liberty”
constitutes the most possessive and convincing defence of the principle of
individual Liberty ever written because for Mill, liberty has transcendent utility.
● According to Mill, the most important right is the freedom of speech and
expression. It is the most precious gift of god to mankind because only human
species has the ability to speak and communicate through language. This lead Mill
to defend individual freedom of thought and expression as it only man’s mind that
changes society.
● According to Mill, the singular greatest threat to individual liberty was from the
tyranny and intolerance of the majority in its quest for extreme egalitarianism and
social conformity, he held that it is a tendency in majority to suppress the
unconventional opinion held by anyone. He held that majority should listen to the
minority even when all have one view and there is a single dissenter. Mill argued
that not even the whole of mankind has the right to silence one dissenter.
● Being influenced by Greek philosopher like Socrates who considered “dialogue” is
the only way to understand the truth, Mill held that even if an opinion was
incorrect, it ought to be articulated, for only through active interaction and
dialogue could opinions evolve and can nourish fruitful ideas, otherwise they
would loose their vitality and become dead dogmas. Mill warned that If the
dissenters view or opinion is right, the suppression of it by the community cannot
be justified, and mankind as a whole would suffer in consequence.
Ques 7:- Write a short note on Locke’s Idea on “Consent” ,”Resistance” and
“Toleration”.
● According to Maxey the greatest achievement of Locke, who is considered to be
the ‘Father of liberalism’, as a political thinker lies in that he gave the world a
systematic, rational and eminently realizable philosophy of individualism,
popular sovereignty and constitutional government.
Consent
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● Locke, in his work ‘The Treatise on civil government” tried to explain the basis
of legitimate Government and the reason why free individuals agreed to be subject
to an external authority. According to Locke, in order to get rid of inconveniences
of the state of nature, free individuals express their consent willingly and
voluntarily through a social contract to establish a government. Locke state that
the sovereign power thus created by the consent is vested in the community as a
whole and not in any single person.
● Without consent, there was no political community. Locke spoke of two kind of
consent, namely, explicit ( direct) and tacit consent. According to Locke, minority
gives the tacit consent., and majority gives explicit consent.
Resistance
● Locke’s individualism is amply expressed in his idea about the right of the people
to resist the sovereign. According to him, the obligation to obey the government
depend on the fact that government use the public power for peace, safety and
public good of the people. he argues that as people entered into a rational and
limited contract for the preservation and enhancement of life liberty and property
and the validity of the contract depends on the contribution of these rights.
Toleration
● In his essay titled “Letter Concerning Toleration”, Locke defended religious
toleration and pluralism, Which constitutes an important contribution to political
liberalism. he suggested that state should follow the policy of religious tolerance.
he held that any attempt to interfere with religious beliefs would be unjust, each
person was responsible for his own salvation. In this way Locke advocated “
freedom of religion” to be followed by the state.
● Though Locke Suggested state to be tolerant towards people having faith in
different religions, he excluded atheists and those groups, that debar others from
practicing and processing their beliefs, from the privileges of toleration.
Ques 8:- Do you think Hobbes stress on sovereign power was an argument in support of
“absolute despotism”. Give reason in support of your answer.
● Concept of sovereignty has been one of the most important concept of modern
Political Theory. It was Jean Bodin ,who is generally regarded as the first modern
political philosopher to have developed the theory of state Sovereignty. Professor
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Maxey describe Bodin’s work as the “first truly modern treaties on the science of
politics”. Bodin defined sovereignty as the supreme power of the state over its
citizens and subjects. However, he failed to overcome the medieval mentality and
limited the concept of sovereignty only to the secular sphere of life.
● However, Hobbesian ‘Leviathan’ contains the first complete statement of theory of
absolute and unlimited sovereignty of the state. He developed a systematic theory
of state absolutism and removed all those limitations by which Bodin had hedged
its sovereignty.. Therefore Hobbes held that it was the ruthlessness of individuals
that made the Indivisible power of the state an absolute necessity. The sovereign
created has absolute power to ensure that competition between individuals become
peaceful and orderly.
● However critics like Spinoza have pointed out that it is impossible for the Monsters
of Hobbes’s state of nature ever to become law abiding and docile citizens of the
social contract. Many of the Hobbes critics felt the need to control government by
the superior authority of society. Locke himself scorned Hobbes prescriptions of
providing absolute authority without adequate safeguards to prevent the abuse and
misuse of power. On one extreme is the view of C.E Vaughan Who can see that
leviathan deserves to remain without influence and without fruit . He argued that
Leviathan is useless as book of politics and fruitless as a book of history.
● However, on the contrary, Scholars like Sabine held that the absolute power of
the sovereign, as envisaged by Hobbes, necessarily complement his individualism.
Hobbesian Absolutism did not contradict individualism, it is intended to provide
enough order to eliminate the state of War and thus provide individuals sufficient
scope to pursue their interest. In this way Hobbes accept the discrete, egoistic, self-
interested and atomistic individuals as the building block of his all-powerful state
edifice. In other words, despite his great emphasize on the undivided, unlimited and
absolute state, the Hobbesian philosophy contains powerful statement of
individualism. Thus the individual does not get subsumed in the all-powerful state.
If the individual is threatened, the ‘leviathan’ losses it's rationale to exercise.
Therefore in Hobbesian philosophy, the state is not an end in itself, rather, it is a
mean to the end of individual wellbeing and security.