Leviathan

Liberty, or freedom, signifies “the absence of Opposition.” Therefore, one who is free is able to do what is in their own strength and ability to do without interference. Hobbes explains that Fear and Liberty can exist together, giving the example of someone who throws their possessions overboard when they fear the ship is sinking. In this scenario, there is a willingness to throw one’s possessions overboard; thus, the action is not hindered or interfered with in some way and is therefore free. The same can be said for someone who pays a debt for fear of imprisonment. It is fear that compels one to willingly do something, and this is generally the case within a common-wealth. Subjects fear the established laws, even though they are technically at liberty to break them.

Liberty and necessity are also consistent, much like the water of a river that has both the ability (liberty) and the need (necessity) to flow in a certain direction. The same is seen in people’s voluntary actions, which arise from one’s own liberty and will; however, since every action is connected to every other action in a “continuall chaine,” voluntary actions also come from necessity. 

The sovereign power can never be abolished or limited, as nothing the sovereign does to a subject can ever be considered an injury or injustice. This is because the subject is author of everything the sovereign does. In this vein, a sovereign can even put a subject to death, and such an action is not considered wrong or immoral.

The liberty that writers praise in past common-wealths is praise for the liberty of the sovereign power, not the liberty of individual people. The people of Athens and Rome were free, Hobbes explains. Still, no one had the liberty to resist the sovereign power, and this holds true in all common-wealths, be it a monarchy, a democracy, or an aristocracy. In each type of common-wealth, the freedom is the same.

It is easy for people to be confused by the word “liberty” and to conflate their private liberties with those of the public. In the Western world, opinions of common-wealths come from Aristotle and Cicero, and such men assumed that subjects of a sovereign assembly are free and that subjects of a monarchy are slaves. In Aristotle’s Politiques, he says: “In democracy, Liberty is to be supposed; for ‘tis commonly held, that no man is Free in any other Government.” Thus, the West has been taught to hate monarchies from such writers. 

True liberty means that a subject can refuse to do certain things, even if those things are commanded by the sovereign power; however, one’s submission to a common-wealth includes both obligation and liberty. In other words, while one may be obligated to perform a certain action, they still have the liberty not to do it. Subjects of a common-wealth have freedom to defend their own bodies, even if the act against them is lawful, and subjects can never be obliged to hurt or kill themselves. Furthermore, when subjects are questioned by the sovereign power regarding a crime they may have committed, said subjects cannot be obliged to accuse and incriminate themselves. 

A subject has a right to refuse the sovereign power’s commands if the refusal does not affect the reasons why the common-wealth was created in the first place. If a certain refusal affects the purpose of the common-wealth, a subject is not free to refuse. For instance, a subject may refuse to fight in a war, even if the sovereign has the power to punish said refusal with death. However, no one is at liberty to refuse to fight for the common-wealth in defense of another power. To refuse the common-wealth in the service of another diminishes the power of the common-wealth and destroys the very reason for government.  

In instances where there are no established laws, a subject is at liberty to behave as he or she pleases. If there is controversy between a subject and the sovereign power, the subject has a right to sue the sovereign, just as if the sovereign is any other subject. However, if the sovereign demands anything by way of their power, there can be no action of law, as everything the sovereign does is derived of the power and authority of subjects. In short, if an action is brought against the sovereign, it is brought against the subject, too.

A subject’s obligation to the sovereign power lasts as long as the common-wealth, and the right to protect one’s self in nature is a right that can never be taken away. Thus, the end of protection of a sovereign power signals the end of obedience. If a subject is taken prisoner by another power during war, they are at liberty to become a subject of the power who takes them; however, if one is imprisoned and not given the choice, they are not bound by any covenant and can escape by any means necessary. 

If a sovereign power is captured in war and gives up power for themselves and their heirs, their subjects are released from obligation to the former sovereign power and are obligated to the new, invading power. However, if a sovereign power is held prisoner and does not give up power freely, a subject is likewise not obligated to obey the invading power.