PP110 Lecture Notes - Harm Principle, John Stuart Mill, English Civil War
Document Summary
In our discussion of hobbes it was noted that he lived at a time when there was a radical shift in political attitudes. Those that ruled no longer saw it as their duty to obey the sovereign or king. External right to rule over and it was your duty to obey even though they owned nothing. Hobbes gave reasons as to why to obey (what to gain) while giving up rights in exchange for something. Hobbes lived through the english civil war (1642-51) when the parliamentarians overthrew and killed the king, ousting his supporters from power. The parliamentarians insisted that the king had no divine right to determine taxation, to rule the army and to be the head of the church (imposing religious orthodoxy) People being ruled over felt that they must have say and be accounted for (this is what changed) Hobbes, recall, argued that the sovereign must obtain this right by agreement with each of his/her subjects .
