Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes, Chapter 28 summary

Chapter 28 of 65 · Part 2: Of the Commonwealth · 13 min to read the chapter

In Chapter 28, punishment means harm imposed by public authority for a judged legal violation, with the purpose of encouraging obedience rather than revenge. The argument distinguishes punishment from hostility, classifies penalties and rewards, and shows how protection of innocent subjects differs from the treatment of enemies.

What happens

The sovereign’s right to punish comes from a natural right retained when subjects surrender their own rights.
Punishment requires public authority, judgment of a legal violation, and an aim of encouraging obedience.
The discussion classifies bodily penalties, financial losses, disgrace, imprisonment, and exile, distinguishing punishment from custody and compensation.
Harming innocent subjects violates natural law, while enemies and deliberate rebels face the rights of war.
Rewards divide into contractual payments and gifts, while benefits extracted through fear encourage further demands.
Payments tied to judicial caseloads encourage litigation and jurisdictional rivalry, and the closing image presents government as powerful but mortal.