What is the function of representation in Hobbes conception of political power as presented in the Leviathan?

Résumé du document

The notion of Representation is a key feature in democratic regimes. More stable than the direct participation of the people into political life, it supposes that the institutions of the State reflect the composition and the wishes of the people. A simple look at the title of the book-the Leviathan-is however intriguing. How could a Leviathan-previously known as the sea monster of the book of Job whose powers cannot be restrained by any man- be representative? Isn't the act of Representation the opposite of the absolutism advocated by Hobbes -understood as the concentration of powers in one's hands? The Leviathan; or The Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil (1651), exposes Hobbes' doctrine of sovereignty and introduces for the first time the concept of representation to describe the relation between the sovereign and the citizens. We will examine it through a triple prism: Representation in its etymological meaning ("repraesentare" = the act of making something present); Representation as the way of grasping a reality by perception (Representation is here a synonym of image) and Representation as an activity, i.e. the way the sovereign reflects the people's wishes and concerns. What is the significance of the Leviathan and of the process of representation in the construction of Hobbes' theory of political power?

Extraits

[...] II) The functions of representation Representation gives legitimacy to the mortal God of Leviathan In his masterpiece, Hobbes launched the revolutionary idea that a political authority is legitimate only if it acts on behalf of the population. That idea justifies that the individuals give up their right and balances the excess of the sovereign's unlimited powers. As Hobbes expresses, each right of the sovereign is deduced from the purpose of instituting the Commonwealth. His extended powers are all the more acceptable since he “personates” the will of the multitude and since he is subordinated to the movement of the general will. [...]

[...] It indeed goes beyond representative institutions and institutional arrangements. On that point, he is very critic of the representative institution of his It is absurd to think that a Sovereign Assembly inviting the People of their Dominion, to send up their Deputies, should therefore hold such Deputies, rather than themselves, for the absolute Representative of the people[3]”. Here, Hobbes conveys all the attacks questioning the Commons since 1642. And whereas representation in an Assembly is usually advocated to counterbalance the power of the State, here it enhances it. [...]

[...] Also, representation is used by Hobbes as a shield against any rebellion. It is indeed a way to invite the subjects to obey the sovereign's decisions and to refuse any rebellion against the authority. Since an injury caused by the Leviathan would be a self- inflicted injury (because this harm would only be the reproduction by the sovereign of a dictated and wanted multitude's choice), the subjects should not complain about anything: whatever the supreme ruler does is an attempt to fulfill his mission of protecting the multitude. [...]

[...] Hobbes saw it as the necessary condition of peace and stability among civil and political society. Indeed, aware of the fact that the acts of the sovereign are their act, considering themselves as the authors of a scenario played by a designated sovereign, individuals will accept to submit to his authority without contesting it. Representation can thus be seen as a factor of stability, as the legitimizing support of the Leviathan's unlimited powers. Bibliography Hobbes, Tom Sorell, Routledge and Kegan Paul Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes, Penguin Classics (1651) Philosophy and government 1572-1651, Richard Tuck, Cambridge University Press The political philosophy of Hobbes: his theory of obligation, Howard Warrender, Oxford University Press End of chapter 13, p.188 Chapter 17, p.227 Chapter 19, p.240 Chapter 18, p.228 Chapter 16, p.221 Chapter 17, p.227 Chapter 16, p.220 Leviathan, part II chapter 18, page 232 in the Penguin classics edition. [...]

[...] What is the function of representation in Hobbes conception of political power as presented in the Leviathan? The notion of Representation is a key feature in democratic regimes. More stable than the direct participation of the people into political life, it supposes that the institutions of the State reflect the composition and the wishes of the people. A simple look at the title of the book-the Leviathan-is however intriguing. How could a Leviathan-previously known as the sea monster of the book of Job whose powers cannot be restrained by any man- be representative? [...]