2012 political debates seen as reflecting differences of Hobbes and Burke

September 03, 2012

George Weigel suggests that the debates of the 2012 political campaign reflects the contrasting visions of the political theorists Thomas Hobbes and Edmund Burke.

Liberal Democrats, Weigel argues, seem to favor the ideas of Hobbes, who in his famous work Leviathan argued that all power should be held by the state, for the benefit of the people. Burke, on the other hand, argued for the liberating and civilizing influence of intermediate institutions.

 

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Further information:

• Campaign 2012: Burke vs. Hobbes?