... with others in civil society is a rational preference to the state of nature. To avoid the perpetual fear of living in the state of nature, Hobbes argues that people possess the natural and rational impulse to enter into a social contract, which involves the individual giving up the right to govern oneself. This right is given up to a sovereign. The sovereign may be an individual or a ruling body, and citizens are required to obey it because it is the sovereign that keeps society from degenerating into the state of nature. The sovereign is therefore the authorised representative of the people and decides what is right and wrong on their behalf. While this may seem autocratic, Hobbes assumes that the sovereign is as eager as everyone else to avoid breaking down into the state of nature, and will therefore act in the people's best interests. This is one major weakness ...

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