Thomas Hobbes&rsquo;s political manifesto &quot;Leviathan&quot; (or, as it was originally titled: &ldquo;<i>Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common-Wealth Ecclesiastical and Civil</i>&quot;, 1651) holds that a commonwealth with a social contract is the ideal way to govern a body of people.<br />Hobbes argues that a sovereign power is best equipped to maintain peace and civic unity and that each of the nation&rsquo;s citizens buys into a social contract that allows the sovereign power to act on behalf of safety and public defence. The central image of the philosophy is a <i>leviathan</i> or sea monster, with a body made of human constituents and a head representing the sovereign leader. According to Hobbes, this philosophy is the best in order to avoid civil war and maintain a unified nation. The manifesto is broken up into four sections, which build on this central idea.