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Understandably this book was written to the prince or king at the time of how to centralize power from monarchies to statehood. It is an insight to how the power structure operates and its intended goals. Follow this up with James Balko's, "Rise of the Warrior Cop: the militarization of police power" to catch a glimpse of where this philosophy has taken those who find themselves being ruled under these systems of thought carried into action. Law enforcement being an extension of state power, its is imperative to understand its basic construct!

Hobbes' thesis that the natural state of man is chaos and war is the primary justification he provides for an all encompassing authority to be placed unalterably in the hands of the Sovereign, or Leviathan. What he neglects to address is the absolutely corrupting influence such power has on the all too human Kings, Queens, and legislative bodies which hold such power over their fellow creatures.

There is a saying that if men were were angels we would not need government, or if that angels administered man's government then we would not need to worry as to constraining them. But neither of these delusions can be ever be achieved by fallible man, no matter how much certain individuals may otherwise hope. You cannot legislate morality and you cannot make men charitable by forcing them to give. And much to the annoyance of Plato, no amount of education or cultural refinement can immunize man to the ever present threats of avarice, arrogance, and blind ambition. There must be checks on this power if men are to retain their hard-fought liberty and if the ultimate power of the government is to maintain its rightful abode with the People.

As we in America have learned, there is a concept of government much more attuned to the particulars of human nature than the false bravado of Leviathan. It is limited government, where every individual choose for himself what he thinks is best, to the degree that he does not infringe on the natural rights of his fellows. Freedom of oppression from the government is our nation's calling card, and it has empowered and enriched man to a degree never before imagined. It seems that man's natural state, when guaranteed certain inalienable rights, was far flung indeed from an interminable warfare on his neighbors.

So, Hobbes had a lot to learn but perhaps not the opportunity to do so. However, I did enjoy and learn much from him in his thorough and unbiased defense of his monarchical position using the Scriptures. He has an immense mastery of them, and cuts through some of the more confusing points of contention between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. He even goes so far as to address the varying degrees of heaven, the existence (or not) of an everlasting Hell, and Baptism for the Dead. It provided me with an excellent base from which to further understand the faith of the early American colonists and the churches they established in the lead-up to the American Revolution.

Still, this is one of the more difficult books on this subject I've yet to slog through and so be warned that you may want to start with some lighter tomes on this subject.

Find yourself eating up philosophies of political economy? Edify yourself by delving into a few sections of this book. I'd suggest finding a companion book or FAQ to help explain it even though it is straightforward. The intricacies of Hobbes abound under the right scrutiny. Those who have libertarian leanings might find this especially enjoyable.

Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes is a good collection of essays on subjects like matter, form and the power of a commonwealth. Hobbes describes sovereignty as the artificial soul with joints and members who do the duty of nerves as in the human body. Sense deals with the origin of thought; whereby, the external body is causative to the senses. Schopenhauer believed that the will and the physical body were conjoined. In Critique of Pure Reason, Kant clarified the notion of knowledge: "In whatever mode, or by whatsoever means, our Knowledge may relate to objects it is at least quite clear, that the manner in which it immediately relates to them is by means of an intuition."

Hobbes explains that much of memory is demonstrated in the experiential domain, although imagination is specific to human beings. The art of speech transfers mental discourse. Hobbes describes the bees and ants as coexisting in a society devoid of coercion. On the other hand, man is in continual competition for honor and dignity. Hobbes explains that the commonwealth acts in order to secure peace and common agreements between and among the members.

Overall, Leviathan is a helpful resource for philosophers, historians and all arts and science enthusiasts. The author clarifies subjects like the memory, the human body, experience and relations between people and nations.

Such an epoch-making master-peace! Must read for any social science, economics and history professional or student. One of the books that made modern day western civilization.

This product is misadvertised. When I purchased this audio book, I thought I was purchasing an audio presentation of Leviathan. The product turned out to be a person reading and offering historical commentary with bits of lines from the text thrown in. This audio presentation is misleading and people should be aware that they are not buying an audio reproduction of Leviathan. This product is good to listen to as a supplemental piece to reading Leviathan. Shame on the company for misrepresentating this product. Amazon should clarify its contents.

Authentic copy, noit as easy to read as a modern translation but certainly the words of the author!

I enjoy Hobbes on occasion and his views can be enlightening on some issues.
He can be a bit much for the modern day reader, but there would be much lost in changing the writing for "easy" reading.