Hobbes in Iran
When Iran was asked to suspend its nuclear program, a request that could only be answered with "yes" or "no", it responded with a 21-page letter on Tuesday. Time to call in Hobbes. From his deep study of human history, the philosopher came to the conclusion that just as pride and self-importance can make men blind; fear can make them see clearly. Virtue, according to Hobbes, is based on fear. And, he noted, with a future eye on Iran, the "sum of virtue is to be sociable with them that will be sociable, and formidable to them that will not."
Paper was expensive in the days of Hobbes. He would have considered using 21 pages for the purpose of saying "probably not" a mortal offence. Not much point, then, in being sociable with them that will not be sociable.
