Taming the Beast

IN 1651, Thomas Hobbes presented his vision of the social contract, and of the authoritarianism that he believed would be its natural result. The frontispiece of Leviathan featured a giant king, sword in one hand and scepter in the other, quite literally lording over the city and countryside. The word “Leviathan,” in its original Semitic form, referred to a massive, terrifying sea monster, and appears to have been derived from an adjective meaning “twisted” or “coiled,” suggesting some kind of dragon or sea snake.

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John Hood

John Hood is president of the John William Pope Foundation, a North Carolina-based grantmaker, and co-founder of Freedom Conservatism.

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IN 1651, Thomas Hobbes presented his vision of the social contract, and of the authoritarianism that he believed would be its natural result. The frontispiece of Leviathan featured a giant king, sword in one hand and scepter in the other, quite literally lording over the city and countryside. The word “Leviathan,” in its original Semitic form, referred to a massive, terrifying sea monster, and appears to have been derived from an adjective meaning “twisted” or “coiled,” suggesting some kind of dragon or sea snake.