SOCIAL CONTRACT

The social contract, founded during the Enlightenment era by a multitude of philosophers, discusses the role of humans in the government. The reason this theory surfaced was due to the precedence of Divine Right in the government being corrupted, leading to people questioning if the government should serve God or themselves. Subsequently, the people realized that they came before the government; therefore, the government ought to serve them. Despite being labelled as a contract, it’s not an actual, physical signed paper; instead, it’s a metaphor for an agreement between everyone in the community.

Let’s go over some key philosophers and their perspectives on the social contract. First, we have Thomas Hobbes, who believed that people were inherently terrible without the government, thus requiring an absolute monarchy in order to maintain order. Second, we have John Locke, who didn’t believe people were inherently bad but also believed that we need rules to protect life, liberty, and property; therefore, there would need to be a limited government in his eyes. Third, we have Jean-Jacquese Rousseau, who believes that people are naturally good, but instead it is society that makes them bad, thus requiring a direct democracy with major participation from citizens. And finally, we have John Rawls, who instead of proposing a government system he brought up his veil of ignorance, which I wrote about in an earlier blog.

Real world applications of the social contract are found in nearly every government. Some examples include constitutional democracy, criminal justice system, international agreements, public health policies, taxes, and social services.

Now, let’s discuss some common criticisms on the social contract. The first is the idea that the historical contract only focuses on the majority (true), and thus ignores women, enslaved individuals, and minorities. Specifically, on Hobbes philosophy, some argue that his idea of an absolute monarchy could lead to corrupt governance. The other problem is the “consent problem”. This problem argues that people are born into societies and are forced into the contracts without ever consenting to do so. Thus, there is a problem of coercion. Finally, many argue that the social contract ignores communal forms of governance, such as that of Ubuntu ethics, as discussed earlier.

The social contract led to major revolutions during the 17th to 18th century. We have the Storming of the Bastille, the French Revolution, and much more. This was as a result of individuals realizing that the absolute monarchy was unfair to the people. Additionally, as other people saw revolutions around them, they started having their own desire for freedom. Needless to say, the social contract had an everlasting effect on society.