The Selfish Market - economy as organism - In his seminal work Leviathan , Thomas Hobbes describes how human beings, desperate in the violent state of nature, agree with one another to give up their autonomy and place it on on person or people: “I authorize and give up my Right of Governing myself, to this Man, or to this Assembly of men,...This is the Generation of that great Leviathan…” (Hobbes, 2013, ch. 18). However, in the 21st century, the political Leviathan Hobbes imagined is no longer as apparent. Our liberal, democratic leaders are actually in positions that have been intentionally weakened in order to prevent the autocracy seen in our past. Instead of disappearing, this Leviathan has evolved into the free market economy that we base our lives around. Just like Hobbes’ Leviathan, our economic system is very much alive. This ess...
