HOBBESS BOURGEOIS MODERATION

Arendt, Macpherson, and Strauss have correctly identified Hobbes as a bourgeois theorist, but wrongly treat him as a theorist of narrow self -interest and unbridled competition. All three, for different reasons, fail to recognize his main contribution to the ethical basis of bourg eois society-his advocacy of moderation. Arendt and Macpherson err in thinking that Hobbes transfers the intense competition of the stare of nature into the commonwealth while Strauss neglects the influence of Hobbes's egalitarianism. Hobbes seeks to limit competition in three wa ys: by insisting on the natural equality of all, by including maxims o f moderation as part of the laws of nature, and by emphasizing the nee d to avoid war except as a last resort. Thus he offers a vision of civ il society in the commonwealth that protects people from subjugation b y relentless power seekers and allows them to develop their own capabi lities as they wish.