Comment by otoolep

I grew up in Ireland, moved to the USA as an adult. European government is clearly Hobbes in model, the US Lockean.

In Europe the individual has almost no legal reason to use force, and force by individuals is considered illegitimate. The "Sovereign" has all the coercive power in European states. In the US, however, a certain amount of legitimate force explicitly remains with the individual i.e. the 2nd amendment. (I am not making a value judgement here).

Of course, Europe has government with the consent of the governed, so is Lockean in that sense. But the balance of force between the "Sovereign" and the people in Europe is all Hobbes. You only notice it when you move to the US and compare it to Europe.

Europe had centuries of religious and civil war. It's not surprising Hobbes won out.