You Complete Me:

The Necessity of a Sovereign and a Commonwealth

A complete circle is made up of 360 degrees. It takes two separate lines of 180 degrees to complete that circle. Even smaller it takes four lines of 90 degrees to complete the circle. Once a circle is complete, it is never ending. It is round, able to revolve in a continuous  pattern. Round like a wheel, a wheel that rotates, a wheel that at times is up, but also times when it is down.

The Leviathan, written by Thomas Hobbes rigorously argues that civil peace and social unity are best achieved by the establishment of a commonwealth through social contract. Hobbes’s ideal commonwealth is ruled by a sovereign power responsible for protecting the security of the commonwealth and granted absolute authority to ensure the common defense. Hobbes describes this commonwealth as an “artificial person” and as a body politic that mimics the human body. The frontispiece to the first edition of the Leviathan, which Hobbes helped design, portrays the commonwealth as a gigantic human from built out of the bodies of its citizens, the sovereign as its head. Hobbes alls this figure the “Leviathan,” a word derived from the Hebrew word for “sea monster” and the name of a monstrous sea creature appearing in the Bible; the image constitutes the definitive metaphor for Hobbes’s perfect government. His text attempts to prove the necessity of the Leviathan for preserving peace and preventing civil war.[1]

A CEO of a company is a CEO because the board of directors believes that I am the best man for the job. I will be able to delegate work to my employees and make the right decisions for not just myself, but all of my employees as well. A CEO is somewhat like a sovereign. If I am an all-powerful sovereign, I am in control. I was given authority by contract to be the “Head” man in charge. I am in charge of making the best decisions for the commonwealth. Now, be being the all-powerful sovereign, should I have to worry about the east and benefit of the people at all? A sovereign is no good unless it has its commonwealth. A complete circle is no good unless it has its two lines of 180 degrees that together work together to become complete. Also just as in a circle, the commonwealth has its top and its bottom. They change together. It is impossible to change the top of the circle without changing the bottom. It makes complete sense for me, the all-powerful sovereign to worry about the east and benefit of the people. Although I may never like to admit it, I need them. Without them, I am nothing. They give me the power that I need. Its like having an unlimited American Express card that I can charge as much as I want and I will never have to pay it off, but where ever I go, only Visa and MasterCard is accepted. There is a mismatch. In order for things to operate in a smooth motion, there needs to be a connection of the two. Me being concerned about the commonwealth does sound almost democratic. But there it is not a true democratic environment, no form of government is. A democratic form of government is for the people. It is suppose to help the people out. It always seems to be a winner and a loser in a democratic form of government, a top and a bottom; just like a complete circle.

Since I am in power, I have the final decision to implement my thoughts. I am in this position for a reason. If I the sovereign, even on a generous day wanted to throw the masses a bone, would  be in the right position to decide what is best for them? My answer, yes! I am the sovereign, I am the head of everything. In the human body, the brain controls every aspect of the body. Every thing has to go through the brain before it is processed. Everything would needs to go through me in order for things to operate correctly. I will have the best intentions for everyone, because I need them to service. I need my other half. Although, we may not be equals, they are still my other half. They are the other 180 degrees I need. It is not to say that the masses can’t think for themselves, because they can, but it’s hard for the hand to tell my foot to move. It needs a bigger authoritative power to rule judgment.

On a baseball team, why is there a coach? In a group why is there a group leader? In a classroom why is there a teacher? Why do we have needs for mediators? When ever there is a whole, there needs to be some power over that whole. When the right fielder tries to tell the pitcher how to pitch, there will be a sense of animosity. A group leader is the leader because he or she was put there, given that authority to make decisions, that will benefit the group as a whole. A good leader has good followers. There is that need for one another. Me being the all-powerful sovereign, the one with the authority, it is not only logical but a strategic move for me to make the decisions. I am making the decisions for the betterment of the whole. If the masses lose morale, they lose hope, when they lose hope they lose faith, and when they lose faith is when they lose their sovereign. Once I am lost, I am powerless. All of my authoritative power and knowledge left with the loss of the faith of the masses. It needs to be there in order for me to survive as well.

Through all of this, Hobbes starting with this horrible monster of government gets to such a benign place by fate. It is stated in the law of nature; human beings must strive for peace. The journey is always a tough struggle, but is the destination which should be cherished. A football team will practice all seasons long. Through all the hot days and summer practices and sacrifice, it all comes down to the last game, the Super Bowl. The pain, sweat, and tears no longer matters, once the ultimate is accomplished. Once they have the Super Bowl trophy in their case, in the case of  The Leviathan, once peace is reached. It may seem that the sovereign is a horrible government, just as many employees may think their boss is a jerk, until the final picture is unveiled. Then they can go, “Ooo, I get it now” “That is why we did this or that.” They did not see the big picture, because that was not their job, that was the job of the authority, the job of the sovereign.

It is hard to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter. While many may find the taste of peanut butter better, the jelly is still an important aspect to the completion of the sandwich. Just as the sovereign may be better, have more power or authority, the sovereign will be nothing without the masses. The idea of the sovereign pushing the masses to the limit is done in good faith. The sovereign is doing this to help them out. It was like when I was younger. I would do something bad, and my parents would discipline me by giving me a spanking. At the time they said, this is hurting me more then it is hurting you, and I just could not understand how. It was not until I got older and I was able to see the big picture did it all make sense to me. At that time, they were the authority over me, they needed to tell me what was  right and wrong.

            The separate lines of 180 degrees are what binds the journey with the destination. It is what takes the monster of a government to such a benign place. 360 degrees is the total of these two meeting. Although one line may have had more insight as to where it needed to be, it was able to get the other line to meet it, to complete the whole, complete the circle.

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