Portrait of Thomas Hobbes
Other · Thinker or writer · From history

Thomas Hobbes

English philosopher, 1588 to 1679

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Argued in Leviathan that without a strong sovereign life is “nasty, brutish and short,” so people should trade some liberty for security.

Thomas Hobbes sits in the right-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: slightly free market and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority, strongly institutional on institutions and leaning traditional on culture. The profile is close to the middle on environment and interventionism.

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Where Thomas Hobbes sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomySlightly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureLeaning traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentCentered on environment
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologySlightly tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceLeaning strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsStrongly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismCentered on interventionism
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Thomas Hobbes

Paul Biya President of Cameroon, 1982 to present99%João Lourenço President of Angola, 2017 to present99%Joseph Aoun President of Lebanon, 2025 to present98%Faure Gnassingbé President of the Council of Ministers of Togo, 2025 to present (President 2005 to 2025)98%Samia Suluhu Hassan President of Tanzania, 2021 to present98%Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa King of Bahrain, 2002 to present (ruler since 1999)98%Abdullah II of Jordan King of Jordan, 1999 to present98%Hun Manet Prime Minister of Cambodia, 2023 to present98%

People furthest from Thomas Hobbes

Emma Goldman Russian-born anarchist and writer, 1869 to 19402%Murray Bookchin American social theorist, 1921 to 20064%Peter Kropotkin Russian anarchist and naturalist, 1842 to 19214%Mikhail Bakunin Russian revolutionary and anarchist, 1814 to 18765%

Political views closest to Thomas Hobbes

Confucian meritocracyPrefers rule by educated, moral officials chosen by merit over competitive elections.99%CorporatismOrganizes society into industry and professional bodies that bargain with the state, an…97%One-nation conservatismA paternalist conservatism holding that the better off owe duties to the poor and to…96%MonarchismSupports a hereditary monarch as head of state, from ceremonial constitutional monarchy…95%

Read more about Thomas Hobbes

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Biographies of Thomas HobbesBooks on confucian meritocracy

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: John Michael Wright, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.