ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book elucidates Hobbes' theory of human nature and the rise of the sovereign state. It examines the Hobbes' citizen's capacity for judgment and discusses what form of trust is possible in Hobbes' commonwealth. Trust has utility. It enables covenants and covenants serve self-interest. Trust, it seems, is ultimately an instrument to self-interest, or what Hobbes calls felicity'. For Hobbes, human beings necessarily seek to forward their own self-interest in all their actions. Trust leads to greater social progress, and social progress leads to a higher degree of rationality among society's members. As members become more rational, however, they begin to deal with each other more and more instrumentally, as a means to some end. However, the more human relationships become instrumental, the less those human beings can be trusted.
