Hobbes, inequality, and redistribution

Abstract

What is Hobbes's attitude toward economic inequality, and should his sovereign pursue radical redistribution? In The Greatest of All Plagues, David Lay Williams argues that the Hobbesian sovereign must widely disperse wealth, since preserving peace under the laws of nature requires it, and concentrated wealth threatens that peace. This essay challenges that claim. First, drawing on Hobbes's distinction between just and good laws, I argue redistribution is not a duty of justice for the sovereign, only something a prudent sovereign would choose to do. Second, given the acquisitive character of Hobbesian felicity, and given that wealth is merely one form of social power among several, stability and peace may not always be best secured through radical redistribution. Finally, I reflect on the limits of using Hobbes to critique modern inequality, suggesting a paradox: the more extreme inequality becomes, the weaker the Hobbesian case for having a sovereign is in the first place.