... law of nature and the man-made law of politics. This role leads further into Hobbes's political theory, and establishes the second function of the natural condition of man, as the foundation of civil society and the basis of man's ongoing cultural and scientific achievement. These things are only possible through co-operation, and co-operation is the only way to survive the negative effects of the human condition. Finally, and perhaps most importantly for Hobbes in the context of developing a theory for successful government, the natural condition and urges of man provide a justification for the absolute obedience to a sovereign required to uphold social order. The resonance of the deleterious effects of man's natural condition with the events of Hobbes's time (and history as he knew it), seems to show how easily the spread of indiscipline and inequality of values can bring about the ruin of society and lead to ...

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