Liberalism for Hobbesian reasons

摘要

Social science as much as the public tends to see power in essentially negative terms, as the exercise of will over others, with effectiveness to that end resting upon the possession of decisive means of coercion. This paper argues a different case, namely, that rule is likely to be most effective when policies of social inclusion are adopted. Differently put, exclusion creates resistance, whereas inclusion diffuses conflicts through society, thereby lowering the temperature of politics. The argument is illustrated with reference to the sociologies of class and nation, and with reference to revolution and development. The findings are placed within a larger theoretical context.