Social contract is an agreement that exists between the ruler and the ruled. Through the social contract, people yield some personal control to the ruler for collective control by the ruler.
In exchange ruler/governing structure takes up the responsibility of ensuring that the rights of people are protected from others who would seek to trample upon them and also to protect the nation.
Thus Social Contract Theory suggests that the relationship between individuals and the government is based on a mutually beneficial agreement.
Views of Thinkers on Social Contract
Thomas Hobbes
- Thomas Hobbes was a 17th century English philosopher who is best known for his works on political philosophy, including his book “Leviathan.”
- Hobbes’ view of the social contract was based on the idea that in a state of nature, human beings are in a constant state of war with each other. According to Hobbes, life in a state of nature is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
- To escape this state of war, Hobbes argued that individuals voluntarily agree to create a government and submit to its authority. In his view, the social contract is an agreement between individuals to give up some of their individual freedoms in exchange for protection and security provided by the government. The government, in turn, is given the power to enforce the laws and maintain order.
- Hobbes believed that this social contract was necessary because without it, individuals would be in a constant state of conflict with each other, and life would be intolerable.
- He argued that the only way to ensure peace and security was to create a strong, centralized government that had the power to maintain order and punish those who broke the law.
John Locke
- John Locke was a 17th-century English philosopher who is also known for his contributions to political philosophy, including his theory of the social contract.
- Locke’s view of the social contract was based on the idea that individuals have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that they enter into a social contract to protect these rights.
- According to Locke, individuals in a state of nature are equal and free, but this freedom is limited by the law of nature, which prohibits individuals from harming one another’s life, liberty, and property. However, in the absence of a government, individuals would be left to enforce these laws themselves, which could lead to conflict and disorder.
- To avoid this, individuals enter into a social contract with each other to create a government that can enforce the laws and protect their rights. In Locke’s view, the government is created by the consent of the governed, and its purpose is to protect the natural rights of individuals.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an 18th-century French philosopher who is best known for his work “The Social Contract,” in which he developed his theory of the social contract.
- Rousseau’s view of the social contract was based on the idea that individuals are naturally good, but their behaviour is corrupted by society.
- In Rousseau’s view, the social contract is a voluntary agreement among individuals to give up their individual freedom in exchange for the collective will of the community. He believed that the social contract could create a society that was both free and equal.
- Rousseau argued that the purpose of government was to promote the general will of the people, rather than the interests of individual citizens or groups. He believed that the government should be based on the consent of the governed and that all citizens should have an equal say in government decisions.
