Drake and Hobbes
by Max Ronquillo and Michael Greenwald
Never in my wildest nightmares would I dare to compare my favorite TV show as a kid to my most hated philosophy book as an adult, but alas (and I said in the Hobbes podcast episode that I never wanted to talk about him again), angry man Thomas Hobbes is back. For those who haven’t listened to our Hobbes episode of our Political Economists Podcast, Hobbes was a pessimistic philosopher during the English Civil War. In my personal opinion, I view Hobbes as more of a clout chaser since he received a lot of pressure from the English Royalists to write the Leviathan. The main concept of his book Leviathan was that people are programmed to be at WAR with each other. He cries that we are “nasty, brutish, and short” by nature, and that we need to fear some “type” of entity to bring us back to peace. I KNOW that we love to live in a world where we are kind to each other, but for those who have siblings I doubt y’all always be screaming “HUG ME BROTHA!” The deeper one starts to understand this connection, the closer it brings us to our childhood culture. Drake and Josh were those siblings, who no matter what loved each other, they still were constantly at war with one another.
The Brother Civil War
From the first episode you could tell that the rivalry between brothers was going to ensue. Drake acted as if he was the “cooliest” guy around, while Josh took his nerdy antics to becoming the football team equipment manager. The two brothers continue to battle it out with Mrs. Crenshaw in the classroom, competing for the golden jacket at the movie theater, or even that silly episode where each brother got an identical replacement of the other (Drew & Jerry anyone???). These brothers resemble the very nasty, brutish, and short nature between people. Just like the (MANY) English civil war(s), it is fought between brothers and sisters. That is why Hobbes wrote the Leviathan: he wanted people to come together under one entity… and in his case the entities are a government or a god… and in Drake and Josh’s case: their parents or a Megan.
The Parental Government
There are two ways to unite a people in Hobbesian theory. The first is a government; and in Drake and Josh, the parenting combo of weatherman Walter and their Mother. I can still hear both parents yell “boooiiizzz” when trying to get Drake and Josh to stop fighting. But weirdly enough… it just never worked. The lads time and time again always choose to defy their parents. In the Demonator episode, their parents strictly told them to watch over their great-grandfather, but they chose to go against their parents wishes and left him. In the Spring Break episode, their parents went away on vacation and the boys had a whole airbnb riot situation at their house. Why did they continue to defy their parents over and over again? It’s because the punishment was never scary enough for them to change. Why do people continue to do injustices in society? Hobbes would argue that the law and THE GOVERNMENT isn’t strict enough. So who is strict enough to bring peace between brothers??
The All Fearful MEGAN! (5 stars for those who heard “Megan” the right way)
The second, and maybe the “scariest”, way to unite a people is through a god… or a Megan. Back in 1632, God was the highest authority for the British people. In 2004, Megan dominated the show with her almighty power. She had spy equipment (insert big brother pun here), booby traps, and other devilish toys to assert her power. I got preteen cold sweats when the brothers thought they killed Megan’s hamster. Need I even mention the peruvian puff pepper?? No matter the situation, Drake and Josh always united to protect themselves from the wrath of Megan, just like how Hobbes hoped England would unify under a common faith.
Am I saying Megan is a God?
Duh.
