French Literature Reviews - 2026

É. Marquer, Leviathan and the Law of Merchants. Commerce and Civility in the Work of Thomas Hobbes
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas

Éric Marquer, Leviathan and the Law of Merchants: Commerce and Civility in the Work of Thomas Hobbes

Paris: Classiques Garnier, coll. "Les Anciens et les Modernes – Études de philosophie", 2012.

EAN 9782812408014.

384 p.

Price: 39 EUR

Publisher's overview:

Hobbes's economic conceptions stand in opposition to the logic of private gain. In Leviathan, he develops a critique of the "law of merchants" to demonstrate that self-interest can neither guarantee peace nor foster the advancement of science and knowledge.

The political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, particularly as articulated in Leviathan, remains a cornerstone of early modern thought regarding the social contract and the necessity of a sovereign authority. By situating the individual within a state of nature characterized by competition and insecurity, Hobbes challenges the assumption that private commercial interests can naturally align to produce social order. This volume examines Hobbes's economic conceptions, which stand in opposition to the logic of private gain, and his critique of the law of merchants.

The tension between economic activity and political civility has long been a subject of debate within the history of political ideas. While the law of merchants historically sought to regulate trade through customary practices and private agreements, Hobbes argues that self-interest can neither guarantee peace nor foster the advancement of science and knowledge. Readers interested in the intersection of seventeenth-century economic thought and political theory may find this work relevant.