Somalia

[Borodog]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
We must be, because as far as I can tell you're saying:

"No, you can have perpetual war of all against all and it'll be great. We'll be just like animals; it'll be some awesome flourishment."

In any event, I'm not really interested in this rabbit trail. Peace.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm more trying to say that the perpetual struggle you describe would likely be highly mitigated and circumscribed as compared to the all-out war of conquest that might easily result when one group possesses overwhelming power.

But we can drop it if you like. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I think you're letting the actual nature of mankind taint your analysis of what would happen under Hobbes's views on the nature of mankind. Remember, Hobbesian anarchy is based on his belief that man is men's wolf, which is false. As Copernicus unwittingly noted, Hobbesian anarchy requires a state to get out of the chaos (although how all of these non-cooperating wolves are supposed to cooperate enough to choose and install the state is never made clear by Hobbes), whereas the actual nature of mankind, which is more inclined to cooperation than conflict, does not. Social cooperation and order arises spontaneously out of self-interested individuals engaging in specialization, the division of labor and exchange, based on the logic of serving self-interest through mutual accomodation and eschewing costly and risky conflicts.