Hobbes’s social contract theory suppressed a discourse of permanent civil war

Evidence

It was a discourse that spoke with two voices. One was saying: “We are the conquerors and you are the vanquished. We may well be foreigners, but you are ser~ vants.” To which the other voice replied: “We may well have been conquered, but we will not remain conquered. This is our land, and you will leave it.” It is this discourse of struggle and permanent civil war that Hobbes wards off by making all wars and conquests depend upon a contract, and by thus rescuing the theory of the State. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 115

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Islamophobia toolkit’s interest in how foundational political theory erases histories of conquest and colonial division in favor of formal contracts. — connects to: Hobbes’s theory aimed to eliminate the problem of conquest from politics — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 114; A military ideal of society rivaled the philosophers’ social contract dream — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 252; Civil society may be structured by perpetual war between forces — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 37 (+2 more)

Related

• Hobbes denies war any role in founding sovereignty (similarity 0.86)
• Hobbes’s theory aimed to eliminate the problem of conquest from politics (similarity 0.86)
• Civil society may be structured by perpetual war between forces (similarity 0.82)
• The hobbesian state of nature is permanent diplomatic representation, not actual war (similarity 0.82)
• War is the permanent underpinning of social institutions; this is Hobbes’s great adversary. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Hobbes denies war any role in founding sovereignty #corroborates (0.85) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 113
• Hobbes’s theory aimed to eliminate the problem of conquest from politics #corroborates (0.82) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 114
• A military ideal of society rivaled the philosophers’ social contract dream #corroborates (0.75) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 252
• Civil society may be structured by perpetual war between forces #contradicts (0.70) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 37