Despite the variation in definitions, sovereignty is always linked to supreme authority, and it is in this sense that Hobbes states that the sovereign’s power is above everything and everyone. Above laws and even the Constitution, thus becoming an absolute and indivisible power. It is important to point out that, first and foremost, “O Leviathan” is a response to the social and political chaos experienced by his generation, and the main objective of the work is to build a justification for sovereignty.
A great defender of absolutism, Hobbes defends this form of government using logical and strictly rational arguments (excluding any precepts or religious arguments). His theory is based on the idea that a Sovereign State is needed to control everyone and maintain civil peace.
In other words, Thomas Hobbes begins by describing men living together without a State – also called a natural state, to later justify the need for it.
For Hobbes, the State is personified in the figure of the sovereign. Its main function is to guarantee the perfect functioning of society, avoiding at any cost a war of all against all. Man must renounce his individual power and cede it to a single sovereign. This sovereign, in possession of the power of all men, would function as an agent for maintaining order in society.
Thomas Hobbes defines the state as follows:
«A person of whose acts a great multitude, by reciprocal covenants with one another, have been instituted by each as the author, so that he may use the strength and resources of all, as he sees fit, to secure peace and common defense» (HOBBES, 1988, p. 106).
As the sovereign described by Hobbes is the source of all justice, nothing he does can be considered unjust. The sovereign’s will must be accepted as the general will with regard to decisions, as they will ensure social harmony and by extension the preservation of the lives of all citizens. It is worth remembering that the ruler does not participate in this contract, as it is from this that he assumes power. Note that the sovereign has no obligation or commitment to him.
The sovereign of a state, whether an assembly or a man, is not subject to civil laws. Since he has the power to make and repeal the laws, he can, when he sees fit, free himself from this bondage by repealing the laws that hinder him and making new ones; consequently it was free before. Because he is free who can be free whenever he wants. And it is possible for no one to be obligated to himself, because whoever can oblige can free, so whoever is obligated only to himself is not obligated. (HOBBES, Thomas, 1988, p. 162).
It is noteworthy that the State, through its sovereign power, requires compliance with civil laws, which serve to control the actions of men, with the aim of ensuring peace and security. Thus, to prevent men from returning to the natural state, a civil State with sovereign power capable of forcing men to fulfill their pacts, in the form of the law previously established, is necessary, punishing subjects who have erroneous behavior, even if it is necessary the use of the sword, coercion, punishment, or force.
Finally, it is emphasized that the sovereign has the obligation to ensure the order of society and the lives of his subjects, as they only gave up the natural state to protect their own life threatened in total war. If security is not guaranteed, the subject has the right to rebel, as the pact is void.