Francesca Pongiglione

What is Determinative in the Making of a Political Theory? A Comparison between Hobbes’s Absolutism and Mandeville’s Liberalism

The purpose of this paper is to show how several factors combine in the making of a political theory. Hobbes’s absolutism and Mandeville’s liberalism are here compared to prove how there is no single element which can determine a consequent political thought. Two aspects of these philosophers’ thoughts are taken into account: the anthropological view and the role given to reason, which involves the belief in a natural process of development of social interaction, a process which escapes rational control. Hobbes’s and Mandeville’s different political theories are the outcome of the interaction of their views of the elements here considered.