Bellum omnium contra omnes
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Bellum omnium contra omnes, a Latin phrase meaning "the war of all against all," is the description that Thomas Hobbes gives to human existence in the state of nature thought experiment that he conducts in De Cive (1642) and Leviathan (1651).
Hobbes' use
In Leviathan itself,<ref>Chapter 13</ref> Hobbes speaks of 'a war [...] of every man against every man', but the Latin phrase occurs in De Cive:<ref>Praefatio (preface), section 14</ref>
Later on, a slightly modified version is presented in Libertas (liberty):<ref>Chapter 1, section 12</ref>
The thought experiment places people in a pre-social condition, and theorizes what would happen in such a condition. According to Hobbes, the outcome is that people choose to enter a social contract, giving up some of their liberties in order to enjoy peace. This thought experiment is a test for the legitimation of a state in fulfilling its role as "sovereign" to guarantee social order, and for comparing different types of states on that basis.
Hobbes distinguishes between war (‘warre’) and battle: war does not only consist of actual battle; it points to the situation in which one knows there is a ‘will to contend by battle’.<ref>Leviathan, Chapter 13</ref>
Other uses
The phrase is used by Karl Marx in On the Jewish Question when he says "It has become the spirit of civil society, of the sphere of egoism, of the bellum omnium contra omnes."
It was also used by Friedrich Nietzsche in On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense: Template:Quote
See also
