Kralj je narod i narod je kralj: Hobbesovo suoèavanje s demokracijom

Leaving aside Hobbes's ideological preferences in the conflict regarding the structure of the English political body in the 17th century, the text deals with the way in which democracy is valued in his key theoretical-political works. The author does this on two levels: first, he examines the status of democracy within the framework of Hobbes's doctrine of state forms. In spite of some of its shortcomings, in none of the three variants of his science of politics does Hobbes deem that there is a rational justification for discarding democracy as one of three equally ranked forms of state. Second, the author inquires into the more general thesis of the democratic character of Hobbes's understanding of the state regardless of its form. Various elements of Hobbes's science of politics are thereby taken into account: legal equality of parties to the social contract, their status as authors of sovereign power, their freedom as subjects and the duties of the sovereign. The analysis thereof points to the necessity of a differentiated answer to the question regarding the democratic character of Hobbes's theory of state. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]