Thomas Hobbes Theory In Comparison To V For Vendetta
“Beneath this mask there is an idea Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof” (V, from V for Vendetta, 2006)
V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue is one of those rare films that relies on historical allusions, symbols and philosophy in each and every one of its moments. The film culminates with a revolution against the tyrannical Norsefire Regime, people marching in the streets and the houses of parliament being razed to the ground. But Alan Moore’s story offers a more complex question about politics, the people and power: “When is revolution truly justified?” What justifies the power of the government and when can you, the individual take up arms against them?
From the first scene of the film, we see the dictatorial framework of Chancellor Sutler’s Britain. After a history of biological disaster, warfare, starvation, and drought, a new society arose. “And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. ” (V, V for Vendetta, 2006) There are civilian curfews, extreme search and seizure methods, and surveillance at every level of society. When describing how Chancellor Sutler’s regime justified these extreme measures of power in the first act, V explains, “Fear got the best of you, and in your panic, you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. ” (V for Vendetta, 2006) The wording here is purposeful. McTigue chose the twin ideas of fear and consent to recall the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes, a 17th Century political philosopher. To put his theory extremely simply, in his famous work Leviathan, Hobbes talked about what justifies government power. He argued two things: Firstly, that government power is justified by consent. You must consent to your government having power over you. Secondly, that it is human nature to fear death above all else. He believes that if there is no government not even your life can be guaranteed against those around you because humans will eventually kill each other for resources, land, or glory. And if we’re so focused on staying alive and afraid of those around us, then freedom of speech, religion, action, and assembly are simply not guaranteed or even possible. V alludes to this sentiment in his revolutionary speech: “I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. There was a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. ” (V for Vendetta, 2006)
Imagine a classroom without a teacher: Johnny has three pencils and knows Mikey will not take them because the teacher would punish Mikey if he tried to. But if the teacher leaves, then nothing is going to stop Mikey from beating Johnny up and taking his pencil if he needs it. A classroom without a teacher is like living without government to Hobbes, and he calls such a situation, “The State of Nature. ” If this is what it’s like without government, then we can see how the Sutlers Norsefire Regime justifies its power. Any government that can provide peace, order, stability, and relieve us of that constant fear for our lives must be necessarily better than the State of Nature no matter how oppressive it may be. Under this philosophy, Sutler’s government is justified because 1. The people voted him into power, and 2. His regime brought people out of the state of nature by relieving them of that constant fear of death. To Hobbes, these are the only two requirements. Fundamentally, fear of death is the governing principle of human action in Hobbes’ political philosophy.
When considering V’s eventual revolution in this light: if the fear of having no state means falling into such utter chaos that one is terrified for their life that they cannot have meaningful relationships, that they’re in a constant state of war, then no such revolution as V’s can ever be justified. Chancellor Sutler says as much, “Doubt will plunge this country into chaos and I will not let that happen; The security of this nation depends on complete and total compliance. ” (Chancellor Adam Sutler, V for Vendetta, 2006)
To him, the risk is too high. No matter what liberties V fights for, Sutlers government is supposedly legitimate, because it provides for the most basic human concern which is security of life, where the state of nature cannot. V for Vendetta directly challenges the assumptions that reinforce this model of political legitimacy. McTigue challenges the idea that fear has to be the governing principle of human nature. After Evey steps in to save V at the BTN, she begins to panic and questions why she did so. “I mazed that detective why did I do that?” (Evey, V for Vendetta, 2006) “You did what you thought was right. ” (V, V for Vendetta, 2006) “I must’ve been out of my mind. ” (Evey) “Is that what you really think or is it what they want you to think?” (V)
In this scene, Evey acted on instinct or human nature. But she didn’t take the cause of action that would be motivated by fear of death. After all, attacking a cop could get her killed. She instead too action for a reason she can’t quite specify. It is here that the film first offers that something other than fear of death can be closer to the heart of human nature and the rest of the movie centers largely around Evey’s transition from fearful, to fearless. “You said you wanted to live without fear,
