Meaning of social contractĪ social contract refers to an actual or hypothetical agreement between the ruled or between the ruled and the ruler, defining the rights and duties of each. In this article, the author will explain the meaning of the social contract and social contract theories followed by a discussion of the social contract theories propounded by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Although the idea of a social contract had been discussed priorly, the concept is predominantly associated with the English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and the French Philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. The conclusions of this exercise led to the formation of a social contract setting out the rights and duties of the citizens towards the State. The social contract theorists compared the advantages of an organised government with the advantages enjoyed in the state of nature and reasoned as to why men should accept and obey the government voluntarily. Before the formation of state and government, man used to live in a state of nature.
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