See intructions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

See intructions - Essay Example The person or group of persons is what Hobbes calls sovereign (Lloyd-Hughes 151). The sovereign enters into a covenant with the people to provide them with peace and defense in return for surrendering their rights. However, he or she is guided by laws and in case the sovereign fails to protect the subjects, they can remove him from power. The citizens thus accept such a sovereign in order to ensure peace and protection. In state of nature, men are competitive and need someone to safeguard their property. Q2: Hobbes: State of Nature In the state of nature according to Hobbes, the life of man is â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short† (Lloyd-Hughes 149). Men in this state are equal in body and minds thus become enemies often. Moreover they are primitive thus have â€Å"no industry, culture, cannot account for time, have no arts and no society† (149). As s result, these men quarrel most of the time as they compete with each other. They become brutish and nasty and solitary as they live in continued fear and danger of death. Furthermore, they are not aware of what is right or wrong thus engage in war against each other all the time. They are also poor and do not have accommodation or own property. It is the sovereign who apportions them land and proscribes rules of ownership after a government is formed. Q3: Liberty According to natural laws all men have the natural right of liberty and as such, use such liberty to preserve his life. Even though the renounce this right for greater gain to the sovereign, they never lose the right to life and liberty (Lloyd-Hughes 150). However, there are boundaries to these liberties. An individual cannot use this liberty to inflict harm on himself or others as consequences follow as set out in the laws of the land. Liberty is to be used only to do what is profitable to them. Liberty is also limited to the particular commonwealth as each jurisdiction has its own laws what is acceptable by one nation may not be acceptable by another. Subjects also have a right to sue against subjects for violating their rights. Q4: Machiavelli: Skill (virtu) and Fortune (Fortuna) Nicollo Machiavelli in the Prince did differentiate between skill and fortune. He referred to fortune as the ability to become a prince through luck or opportunities. For example the Theseus succeeded to conquer Athenians because Athenians were dispersed (Lloyd-Hughes 91-92). That is sheer luck and wise kinds should not rely on it as fortunes can change any time. Many princes inherited dynasties but could not keep them due to lack of skills; for example, the king of Naples. Great princes are those who have the skills and ability to control fortunes such as ruthlessness, bravery and pride. This is due to the fact that â€Å"fortune rules half of our actions†¦.the other half is determined by skill and ability† (91). He says that God sends us floods but men can change future events by taking actions that can control the f loods in future. Q5: Is It Better for Ruler to be Loved or Feared? For Machiavelli, most people would like to be loved and feared at the same time but it is much better to be feared than loved. This is because in their nature, men are â€Å"ungrateful, fickle, false, and cowardly† (Lloyd-Hughes 97). As such, these men give promises to the ruler only to retreat when things get worse. They do everything for their own interest and betray you at any time. He also claims that men love on their own will