Title: "Sovereign Power the Same"
Wendell Stephenson
Abstract:
Hobbes claims at Leviathan, Part II, Ch. xviii, 20, that the power in all forms of commonwealth, if they be perfect enough to protect the citizens, is the same. This is quite some claim from so acute an observer and thinker as Hobbes was, for not only does it seem obviously false; it also seems that it is inconsistent with views Hobbes himself accepts. In this paper, I attempt to show that, properly understood, Hobbes' claim is essentially correct and that it is consistent with his other stated views.