Behemoth: Democraticals and Religious Fanatics

Abstract

The forces opposed to the King during the English civil war, in Hobbes's view, were striving to establish democracy. The question of democracy, in fact, is a central if neglected question in Behemoth. Hobbes sees democracy in Behemoth as an explosive mixture of Greco-Roman political sentiments and ideas, and religious fanaticism that fuels the ambitious, gain and glory-seeking elites and pulls the common people into the vortex. Whereas in his earlier works, Hobbes discusses democracy mainly as a form of government, in Behemoth democracy becomes a force destructive of government.