POL208Y1 Lecture Notes - Human Nature, Siege Of Melos, Hedonism
13 Dec 2012
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Document Summary
Is cooperation possible: deals with, how do we deal with threat, what do actors want, what is more important for understanding international politics. War was a big part of his life. Man is selfish hedonist- the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some good to himself. All people are equal, rational and possessing a passionate love of survival (right of nature) - leads to violence. In the interest of personal survival, people will come around agreeing that they should renounce of violence. The creation of leviathan enforces stability- citizens give up their inde3pence to buy stability. The leviathan gets ultimate authority and a monopoly over the use of violence. Morality, justice, property- are social constructs imposed by the state and exist only so long as the state is strong enough to impose them- they are tools for maintaining stability rather then inherent right s.
