The social contract theory in its classical form, provides for a process of “transcendence,” in which the state imparts a moral dimension to nature, by virtue of the fact that people have agreed – contracted – to erect a state. He characterizes Hobbes’ state of nature as “a defense of European culture against an imagined critique by the savages of America” (43). Sartwell explains the role and importance of “the state of nature” – conceived by Hobbes as a state in which life was “nasty, brutish, and short” – in supporting the argument for the social contract. Social contract is discussed, of course, with references to Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes. He takes aim at three political theories used to justify the existence of the state: contract theory, utilitarianism, and the theory he calls justicial justification. This is not new to anyone familiar with the 19th-century works of Spooner or with such contemporary authors as Rothbard and Hans-Hermann Hoppe, but Sartwell’s logical exposition is an engaging discourse on difficult topics and authors. Sartwell believes the state is not a legitimate institution because it rests not on voluntary association but on coercion and violence. “Everyone’s political philosophy,” he says, “is the result of a personality disorder.” It probably isn’t true, but it makes for an interesting turn of phrase. Sartwell has obviously been fighting in the ideological trenches and has, I assume, some scars derived from ad hominem attacks.
Sartwell’s book is both interesting and entertaining, filled with perceptive insights and unusual comments. Those who are familiar with the works of such anarchists as William Godwin, Emma Goldman, Lysander Spooner, and the late Murray Rothbard (a founding editor of Liberty) will find interesting insights on anarchism itself. Perhaps it does not need to be explained. The distinction between minimal-government libertarian philosophy and anarchism is not explained. He defines anarchism as a social order characterized not by force but by voluntary association. It is a book about libertarian political philosophy, which the author calls anarchism. One doesn’t usually think of a book on political philosophy as an entertaining read, but “Against the State” by Crispin Sartwell is the exception.
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