Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature
Hobbes believed that the state of nature would be a war of all against all. Locke denied this, but acknowledged that in the absence of government, peace is insecure. In this paper, I analyse both accounts of the state of nature through the lens of classical and experimental game theory, drawing espe...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2019
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| _version_ | 1797110369991262208 |
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| author | Barrett, JA |
| author_facet | Barrett, JA |
| author_sort | Barrett, JA |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Hobbes believed that the state of nature would be a war of all against all. Locke denied this, but acknowledged that in the absence of government, peace is insecure. In this paper, I analyse both accounts of the state of nature through the lens of classical and experimental game theory, drawing especially on evidence concerning the effects of punishment in public goods games. My analysis suggests that we need government not to keep wicked or relentlessly self-interested individuals in line, but rather to maintain peace among those who disagree about morality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:54:02Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:17f34c27-0409-4f60-b419-badbcee5e5d9 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:54:02Z |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:17f34c27-0409-4f60-b419-badbcee5e5d92023-08-10T09:09:37ZPunishment and disagreement in the state of natureJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:17f34c27-0409-4f60-b419-badbcee5e5d9EnglishSymplectic ElementsCambridge University Press2019Barrett, JAHobbes believed that the state of nature would be a war of all against all. Locke denied this, but acknowledged that in the absence of government, peace is insecure. In this paper, I analyse both accounts of the state of nature through the lens of classical and experimental game theory, drawing especially on evidence concerning the effects of punishment in public goods games. My analysis suggests that we need government not to keep wicked or relentlessly self-interested individuals in line, but rather to maintain peace among those who disagree about morality. |
| spellingShingle | Barrett, JA Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature |
| title | Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature |
| title_full | Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature |
| title_fullStr | Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature |
| title_short | Punishment and disagreement in the state of nature |
| title_sort | punishment and disagreement in the state of nature |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT barrettja punishmentanddisagreementinthestateofnature |