Would Hobbes say that Mexico is in a State of Nature?

Por Thomas Cummings 400587

Carrera RI – UDLAP

In Thomas Hobbes “State of Nature”, that is a society in its natural state or without any form of government or ruler to run it; he says that every individual would ideally have a right to everything. Thinking rationally, if everyone had a right to everything, obviously our rights will collide. My right to steal takes away your right to have for example. So in this state, according to Hobbes, it would be a war of all against all. His most famous work is his book, the Leviathan in which he says that our world would be one without culture, art, society, navigation or other commodities because all of this would require too much force. Worst of all, he says that the state of nature would be a world of continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short (chapter 8, Leviathan).

In Mexico, it is estimated that between 30 and 40 thousand citizens (or more) have died as a result of drug related deaths, over 15 thousand in 2010 alone. An article in the LA Times called La Plaza says that in Ciudad Juarez alone there were 976 people violently killed from the beginning of this year to June when the article was published. The situation is so bad that the US Department of State has issued travel warnings for Mexico. There are elevated accounts of kidnappings and robberies as well.

So, would Thomas Hobbes say that here in Mexico, the people are living in continual fear and danger of violent deaths? This would depend on the opinion of each individual but for some, it is an everyday reality. Would Hobbes say that Mexico is in a pre-political state, a State of Nature?

Many people have begun to go out less at night, travel less and live in fear of others in our society. According to Hobbes, this State of Nature is due to a lack of an authority figure and social contract that everyone abides by. Many would agree then that here Hobbes’ theory applies. Mexico lacks a government strong and healthy enough to guaranty security for its citizens and to penalize those who do not follow the rules. There are many people in this society who do not follow the rules of it but are not punished. The majority of the murders, robberies and assaults here are never solved.

I think that to go as far as to say that Mexico has no government or authority figure is an exaggeration. This country is exhibiting some of the symptoms explained by Thomas Hobbes in his State of Nature but it is not completely there, not all of the citizens act according to the theory that everyone has a right to everything. There are a few in the society who cause distrust in the majority. So, to conclude, it is probably an exaggeration to suppose that Mexico is in Hobbes’ State of Nature but some may agree that the country is on its way back in that direction, back towards a pre-political state due to the lack of a strong government.