Individual And State: The Study On Hobbes's Citizen Thought

Hobbes was one of the founders of modern political philosophy. His thoughts implicate the origins of modern political designs and thoughts. We can draw lessons for our country's political modernization from grasping the logic of the 15~16 century's British political transformation , further understanding the occurring logic of political modernization by examining Hobbes's political thought. The study about Hobbes's political thought is quite plentiful, but is rare on his citizen thought. There is not only important theoretical signification but also practical importance to our further grasping the course of shaping modern citizen, which is the modern politics'base, through studying Hobbes's citizen thought. Under the frame about the relation between the individual and the state, along the analysis way"individual-subject-citizen", using the core concepts: private reason, which is conotated in the citizen, and the public reason, which is conotated in the state, I analyse and study Hobbes's citizen thought.Hobbes's citizen theory is based on the theory about natural state. The concept"natural state"is the central summary about the historical"pre-politics"state and the philosophical"un-political"state. Natural state results from the private reason's action which is not controlled and then takes willfully. Hobbes gives us two ways to getting rid of the natural state: morals-politics and reason-will.Hobbes's citizen thought rooted in the British society in 15~17 century, where and when historical drastic change happened. Conflicts and disorders resulted from the social change urged Hobbes to ponder how to establish and maintain the order. The reason logic penetrates in Hobbes's citizen thought.The state, as a combination of the citizen's public reason, is not only a political commonwealth but also a moral commonwealth. Hobbes requests that not only the citizens improve their moral level and maintain the public interest, but also the monarchs be a moral example and then to be the legitimate personified man of the combination of the citizen's public reason. In the citizen society, the citizen acts according to the principle which is introduced by the private reason, lacking of spontaneous political public awareness. This leads to the contradictions and conflicts between Private requirement or interest and Public requirement or interest. Two kinds of intrinsic reason isolate in the external form, and this leads to the tension between the state and the citizen.Right and order are the theme of Hobbes's citizen thought. Right is located superior to the right, and acquires the priority to the right. Obeying emphasized by Hobbes is based on the states or the sovereign's protecting the citizen's right, and it is the acceptance about the contract system. The obeying has not only political but also normal significance for order. And the obeying is the important factor for affection of the modern state's system. This is what is different between Hobbes and Machiavelli. Though Hobbes regards the citizen who obeys the sovereign as the sovereign's subject, the subject is not the sovereign's vassal, and has his independent personality. From the view of the state's existence or the active citizenship,the citizen obey the sovereign's power. But from the view of the state's origin or the negative citizenship,the citizen not only obeys the power, but also utilizes the power.The justice's appearance firstly is from the right's exchange among the citizens, and then it is from the equitable interest's distribution by the sovereign. The justice's implementation, not only is based on the state's existence, but also is protected by the public power of the states. In the political sense, justice is origin from the state. From the citizen's view, the justice's implementation is relied on the individual's compliance of lease. In the social sense, justice is origin from the citizen.Regarding the demonstrated strategy, Hobbes put on the cloak of religious legitimating to his theory, and the cloak is the Christian principles which are from the Bible. Hobbes eloquently demonstrates the absolute about the citizen obeying the God and the secular sovereign.Currently, as the British when Hobbes lived in, China is in a period of transformation from traditional to modern society. A very important issue is how to make the people entered into the modern society and be a modern citizen. And this is the significance for our studying Hobbes's citizen thought. What Hobbes inspired us which the mostly is that the citizen's political participation which is for protecting rights must be a prerequisite for maintaining the commonwealth. And the healthy and orderly political participation is possible consequently. In the sense of modern political civilization, the benign interactivity and limited tension must be maintained between the individual and the state, and the political development shall be orderly and harmony consequently.