Kyle Harrison
to-read
Leviathan
Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil
- Author
- Thomas Hobbes
- Published
- 1651
- Recommended
- Once
Why it’s on the list: The founding text of the sovereignty argument: life without a common power is “solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short,” so subjects trade liberty for order.
Where I saw it: Peter Savodnik’s April 2026 post telling readers to work through Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau — “To start.” Kyle saved it to his “Books To Read” note; this card is one of the twelve volumes that canon reduces to.
Connections
- Thomas Hobbes — from the same canon list.
- Social Contract — from the same canon list.