INTRODUCTION
Social contract theory is ancient theory. According to the theory, a social contract or agreement between individuals is what determines their moral and political beliefs. It has ties to political and moral philosophies. People including Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Locke have advocated the viewpoint. According to the notion, a society can only survive if there are assurances that its members won’t injure one another, and this is only feasible if they can trust one another to uphold their end of the bargain. According to the Social Contract Theory, societies need to have laws that set expectations for behaviour in order for morality to exist. A government must include the people if it is to be acceptable to them. The Social Contract Ideas of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau will all be discussed in this essay, and then the theories will be compared.
HOBBES THEORY
According to Hobbes, human people need to be ruled in order for society to be peaceful since, if left to their own devices, they would bring injury to one another. This is due to the fact that they would act selfishly and hurt one another, which would bring chaos or war (Friend 2006:1). Hobbes contends that having a subject to a sovereign is necessary for people to live in peace (Hampton 1986:6). This is due to the fact that without political control, people would live in the wild and would inflict harm to one another. According to Hobbes, the only way to ensure that people follow the law is to have a government that imposes laws without the people’s permission. The Elements of Law presented this idea (Hampton 1986:6).
Hobbes defended political obligations by arguing that because people are rational and self-interested by nature, they would consent to subject to an absolute sovereign authority in order to live in an ordered society. As a result, humans were forced to create a social compact that would provide them with a better standard of living than what was possible in a state of nature (Friend 2006:1). Hobbes believed that there was a connection between the person and society and that the government ought to have the upper hand.
THEORY OF JOHN LOCKE
The views of Hobbes and John Locke on the essence of things were diametrically opposed. According to Locke’s social contract theory, people have the right to rebel against repressive regimes or tyrannical rulers who fail to fulfil their constitutional obligations (Landry 2007:1).
In his book Two Treatises on Government, Hobbes challenges the notion that political power should be drawn from religious authority, which was founded on the idea of the Divine Right of Kings (Friend 2006:1).
According to Locke, society needs a government in order to effectively develop peace in the community. Locke believed that civil governance should never go beyond what is best for the whole. Because the power should not exceed that found in the natural world, it should not have ultimate control over the populace. No one should possess “an ultimate arbitrary authority,” for this reason (Landry 2006:1). Absolute power in the hands of one person would be hazardous because it would allow that person to disarm themselves and lose their ability to protect themselves, turning society into a target (Locke).
The government must acquire the people’s agreement before it may tax the society in order to provide protection, but it must not overtax them since this would amount to breaking “the basic law of property” (Landry 2006:1). (Locke). Because both the person and the government rely on one another for safety and tax revenue, their relationships should be mutually beneficial.
THEORY OF ROUSSEAU
The Second Discourse and Normative Social Contracts are two conceptions of the social contract developed by Rousseau. He describes how man transitioned from the state of nature into civic society in the second Discourse. He said that people had tranquil lives in the natural world. They enjoyed simple, secluded lives with little complications (Friend 2006:1). The plentiful riches in nature easily fulfilled their requirements. They were good people who respected one another (Social Contract theory n.d).
Later, as the population grew and supplies began to run out, people began to coexist. Later on, the idea of private property was developed.
This had a significant influence on human history and transformed society from one that was simple to one that was convoluted and full of sin, such as greed (Rousseau 2005:13). Because of this, a government was required, and it was hired to safeguard everyone. Rousseau argues that the growth of rivalry and strife that plague contemporary society was a result of this social compact (Rousseau 2005:21-26).
The normative social compact proposed by Rousseau was established to address the social issues that had arisen. To achieve this, it would examine the past, pinpoint the root causes of issues, and address them as a society should. The adage “Man was born free, yet he is always in shackles” is included in the contract (Friend 2006:1).
Therefore, because of the economic disparities in society, people shouldn’t be made to labour for others. This suggests that both collective bodies and individual members of society operate for the benefit of the entire community.
He promoted democracy in the community. This implies that everyone in the community would concur on deciding how the society would be ruled. For example, they would concur on the laws that would govern society. We would adhere to democratic values that are advantageous to both individuals and society as a whole (Friend 2006:1).
COMPARISONS
The three views concur that because people are equal by nature, no one has the right to dominate others until there is a general consensus to grant one or many people the power to rule.
The ideas, however, have contrasting perspectives. Locke and Rousseau argue that the government should rule as long as it does not restrict the people’s freedom, in contrast to Hobbes who thinks it should have complete control over the people it rules. This indicates that everyone should accept the laws that are created in society.
While Locke maintains that society needed to be improved in terms of peace and security even if it already existed in the natural world owing to natural law, Hobbes felt that social contracts were developed because man desired to escape the harsh society in the state of nature. On the other hand, Rousseau thought that people should be compelled to be free since freedom was something that had to be restored to them. And this is accomplished through the laws that control people and establish their morality (Friend 2006:1).
CONCLUSION
The social contract theories have a significant impact on how we view society. They exist in a variety of civilizations all across the world. The notions of the social compact should be used to the benefit of the entire community. All people should be treated fairly and equitably by the governments placed in place, for instance, with fair trials and protection when they go to court. To guarantee that individuals have access to human rights and freedoms, governments should uphold democracy. When this is done, instances of human torture, unlawful detentions, and government assassinations of human rights defenders would decrease or end completely.
On the other hand, it is dangerous to accept Hobbes’ claim that governments should have unrestricted authority. As a result, people in a society would be unable to speak up against administrations that are not looking out for their interests. This is due to the fact that the government would employ its apparatus and resources to intimidate or quiet such people. As a result, society would be ruled by fear and people would be unable to exercise their right to freedom.
This article is written by KAMAL, Faculty of Law, University of DELHI, LL.B-3rd year during his internship at LeDroit India.
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