But civil society does not eliminate fear. It replaces fear with fear. Fear of force in man's natural state gives way to fear of force in civil society. It is fear of punishment, not natural inclination to act morally, that keeps individuals in check. Thus, man by nature is neither social nor political.
Civil society is the artificial deterrent to man's basically antisocial tendencies.
His position is similar to that of every human being in the hypothetical state of nature, where there are no rules, where laws do not exist, and where one can do whatever he wants as long as he can get away with it. Use both Hobbes' and the ancient Greek understanding of freedom to answer these questions. But a state of war exists not only between man and man, but also between man and non-human nature. Hobbes's attitude toward nature, whether human or non-human, is one of fear. Natural forces threaten human life every bit as much as human beings do.