The Tolerant Leviathan: Hobbes and the Paradox of Liberalism

For many contemporary liberals, toleration has become liberalism's defining characteristic, with individual rights being maintained more or less unconditionally. Because Hobbes stressed so emphatically the conditional character of nearly all individual rights and their dependence on sovereign authority, he is typically viewed by liberals as an absolutist who was indifferent, if not hostile, to toleration. This typical view, however, neglects liberalism's own absolutism, which necessarily supports and qualifies toleration. Hobbes's liberalism is paradoxical, but the paradox of Hobbes's liberalism not only reflects, but also helps to clarify, the paradox of liberalism per se.