Tentative Response - Hobbes

2. Hobbes speaks of the sovereign. Who or what is the sovereign? Is it the same as a king (who was called the sovereign)? What are the limits of the sovereign's authority? Is Hobbes an apologist for dictators?

The sovereign is the ruling body of a commonwealth. It could be a king, but could also be an elected ruler, dictator or an assembly. The idea is that each citizen has implicitly made a contract with the sovereign, giving up all their rights to the sovereign in exchange for being protected by that sovereign from a constant state of war. This means that the sovereign's power must be accepted unconditionally - otherwise there could be debate about whether to overthrow the sovereign and war breaks out again. Hobbes entreats sovereigns to govern with the best interests of their subjects at heart, but also argues that subjects have no right to do anything if they are treated poorly by the sovereign, because firstly they agreed to the sovereign's rule and secondly, rebellion and war would be worse. He also argues that a sovereign's well being is tied to that of their state, so it is in their best interest to rule it well. Hobbes has no problem with dictators, because through acquiescence the subjects have implicitly agreed to the dictator's rule. While Hobbes would not approve of the actions of a dictator who rules with unnecessary cruelty, he sees this as a lesser evil than anarchy. He would certainly approve of a dictator if they ruled in such a way as to make their state prosper.