organize a state based on a constitution, or a set of higher laws that regulate and define the power of government and its officials. Hobbes claims that such a constitution is impossible Hobbes assumption is that human disagreement is all all-encompassing; that the subjects of a commonwealth are incapable of reaching a unified interpretation of a constitution and, therefore, an adjudicator will be needed to interpret the constitution for them. This means that the judge will effectively become the sovereign, because the power to reach a final binding decision will be located in him. He claims that if the adjudicator is subordinate to a higher authority, then that authority will effectively become the sovereign - hence the regress is generated. Those who advocated a government, with sovereignty divided among different branches, were also repudiated by Hobbes. He asked the question, “'For what is to divide the power of a Commonwealth but to dissolve it; for powers divided mutually destroy each other.” Once again, Hobbes maintains that what destroys this kind of constitutional arrangement is the impossibility of agreement as to the interpretation or enforcement of moral rules or principles whatever their character. According to him, there are two reasons why such a commonwealth will disaggregate. The first is due to a recognition that people, who are exclusively guided or motivated by egocentric and selfish tendencies, will not suddenly lose those tendencies as they enter civil society. On the contrary, they may be expected to enlarge their wealth and jurisdiction, not necessarily because they desire more power, but because it will provide them with some protection from the depredations of others. Civil war will, therefore, inevitably follow. Finally, Hobbes dismisses those who maintain that the ruler's power can be limited by a contract between the sovereign and the people. He claims that this will merely lead inevitably t...
