vaccine mandates
Opinion: What 17th-Century Philosopher Thomas Hobbes can Teach us About Masks, Vaccine Mandates, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Thomas Hobbes was a 17th-century English political philosopher. Among other intellectual achievements, Hobbes developed the theory of the social contract in a way that no philosopher before him had. In so doing, he essentially launched the field of modern political thought and laid the building blocks of liberalism and liberal philosophy. His theory of the social contract remains as relevant as ever in this age of mask-wearing, vaccine mandates, and COVID-19. Hobbes’ theory goes something like this: before we had government, humanity lived in a state of nature. In this anarchical state, everyone had to fend for themselves. There was