Politics, life, and fear: An Ode to the Shattered Windows
Thomas Hobbes; politics; life; fear
In his political philosophy, Thomas Hobbes presents the preservation of one's own life as the central element to which a human being dedicates the utmost of their efforts, in accordance with the principal imperative of the Laws of Nature. Alongside "life,” another prominent element in his reflections is "fear,” considered by him as the first of the three main passions that incline men towards peace and in the absence of which, even the Laws of Nature do not have sufficient force to be obeyed. The appreciation of these two operators – life and fear – in the formation and maintenance of the political body opens the field for stimulating reflections about the relationship between the subjects and the figure of the sovereign, and may even, to some extent, engage with dilemmas observed contemporaneously between established power and the desires of popular majorities. Is life to be guaranteed by the state limited to physical integrity or does it contemplate broader aspects? Faced with the failure of the political body to fulfill its protective scope, is it possible to argue in favor of a violent response from the subjects towards sovereign power? To some extent, can the mobilization of fear be envisioned as a political instrument in favor of the subjects?