Authorization and Political Authority in Hobbes

Abstract

In Hobbes’s social contract, the subjects authorize the sovereign’s actions. This is generally taken to mean that they extend their rights to the sovereign. However, authorization can also be used to establish mere ownership of the sovereign’s actions, without extending rights. This novel interpretation of authorization is used to explain why the social contract is internally consistent. It is also used to explain why authorization was important for Hobbes. One reason is that it gave sovereigns immunity from claims made by their subjects. Another reason is that it enabled sovereigns to escape the constraints put on them by the maxim that the king can do no wrong.

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