Blog about the connection that Hobbes posits between morality and government. What’s the connection? Are governments/sovereigns subject to moral judgment?
Hobbes states that a government must be put in power to enforce the law and protect morality. Without a government we have the right to EVERYTHING but because “everything” is finite or wanted by others as well there will be conflict. People will lower themselves to The State Of Nature and The State of War without a government system. Hobbes says that in essence we give some of our rights to the government and the government uses those rights to keep everyone in line and adhering to the social contract. Governments can be subject to moral judgement because we can clearly see how the Nazi rule and government Hitler set up was immoral. We can also see the rights given to the government by the people being abused in fascist governments and communist governments. These actions are deemed as immoral and just not right.
“Governments can be subject to moral judgement because we can clearly see how the Nazi rule and government Hitler set up was immoral. ”
I completely agree with you, but I think its important to remember that this is in retrospect. at the time, people both within and outside of germany didn’t view what was happening as immoral, a lot of people thought that Germany’s inner turmoil and distress would be solved by the rise of the Nazis. Point being, I think moral judgement is a lot easier after the fact, because while something is in progress you obviously can’t foresee outcomes that could change your opinion.
That sounds true to me. We call the Nazi regime immoral because they were but only in retrospect we can declare it so easily. I just wanted to point out that your comment seems very Utilitarian in the sense that it is the consequence or the outcome that has the end all judgment on whether something is immoral or not. It sounds like somewhat of a mix of Mill and Kant.
I disagree with the comments stating that morality can only be, or best be, determined in retrospect. If this is true, then why have morals at all if we cannot tell what is moral or immoral while it is happening? Also, if you say that people inside and outside Germany didn’t “view what was happening as immoral,” then why was it that people were hiding Jews? Obviously there were people who were strong in their morals and understood morality despite popular belief.
I agree with the comment above that we really can’t determine morality in retrospect. Yes that we might look back at things in the past like the fact that slavery was once legal and think that it is immoral but I believe that we learn from things in the past and that morals can change. Not that morals are fully formed in retrospect.