Social contract theory

Social contract theory

Social contract theory is an old philosophy view that political obligation and people’s morals are dependent upon an agreement or contract among them to form the society in which they live. The social contract has been in existence since time immemorial and explains the quest of man for peace and orders as the engine for socio-economic transformations in the society. The collective welfare and benefits have also strengthened the pursuit of the law through coordination of the affairs of men by the institution. Enlightenment philosophers such as Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Thomas Hobbes explained the relationship between secular society and the state under the notion of the social contract. Social contract theory was created with the idea that men built the country through the means of the social contract upon which every person had consented. According to this theory, a state was created by individuals who voluntarily entered into contract terms, which provided political authority. This theory provided the for the exercise of sovereign power, and the legislative obligation to submit to the jurisdiction binds to the individuals for the reason that they voluntarily accepted the contract. This theory presupposes that the state and society have mutual relation submit their liberty and freedom to the government ewhile the government offers pprotectionstate theoffers protection to the civil society in all forms of arbitrariness as long as the civil society remains committed. The contract pis sustained through lethe mutual respect on the roles of each party.

The idea o f contractual relationship is subsumed under the welfare of the citizens and the wellbeing of the state. In association to this contract theory, the state has three main purposes. The state has the purpose of protecting the society against violence and inversion of other societies, the state also has a purpose of enabling the a system of justice and finally, the state plays the role of establishing and maintenance of public institutions and public works. State exists to enable men social good on a broad spectrum because the state acts a means of enrichment of an individual’s personality. State also exists to help men realize the best in themselves. Most importantly, men the only way the state can make men realize the best of themselves is through the provision of rights such as the right to education, work, freedom of speech, religion, association, and vote. The implication is that while the state is expected to undertake all these functions, when it fails, it would have failed in its own part of social contract. As a result, the civil society has the right to withdraw their loyalty from the state.

Many authors have outlined in their studies the existing difference between philosophy and political theory and have come up with numerous proves that shows the difference. According to sndhhd, philosophy deals with certain areas that relates to justice, liberty, law, and property rights. on the other hand, political theory purely deals with the theory of politics and the origin of politics. Political theory deals with the general theory of constitution and citizenship. The concept of overall justice forms the basis of political theory. Other authors have also reiterated that politics originated from universal justice. The study of political philosophy relies on other factors such as metaphysics and epistemology. Political philosophy also entails the study of the origin of the state, its institutions, and laws. According to hdhdd, political theory is logical in its conclusions and explanations while political philosophy is metaphysical in its conclusions and explanations. The crux of political theory is based on the deposition of power in the society. political theory studies how power is distributed amongst the three levels which include individuals, states and groups. Philosophers are reported to be thinkers nearly in all their life time.

In the history context with regards to social contract theory, Michael Ephesus argues that there is a relationship between subordination and sovereignty. This argument is supported by the concept of natural slavery. Michael suggests uses social contract theory to argue that there are slaves by nature and masters by nature. He also points out that the relationship between citizens and politicians is not only about subordination and governance, but also about the concept of virtue. Michael goes further to argue that a real politician would be a form of expression of public and private application of the virtue of justice. Michael expands on the concepts of Aristotelian political philosophy because he talks about the political philosophy of Byzantium. Michael perceives political governance to be of great dominance in the whole universe. He argues that communications between members of political society must be designed on the conversation between various parts of the universe. The idea of natural slavery is a paradox. It talks about the political sovereignty as an imitation of a divine ruler.

In the modern world, the concept of contract theory is used in terms of exercising democracy. Understanding the concept of social contract in the contemporary world has been based on democracy by many authors. According to dhf, democracy is a system of government that exists in relation to the lines of social contract between society and state. Many authors have also argued that the collapse of contractual relationships in many states and the people has contributed to the current vices experienced in the political systems thus impeding the democratization process. Such kind of unfavorable tendencies undermines sustainable development in many countries across the world. Issues regarding to social contract between the civil society and the state in many countries goes must go a long way in-enacting the demands and values of the contract to the minds of citizens in order to work towards upholding the wellbeing of the country and their welfare as well. Democracy is a broad concept but it is easily understood through the relation of the people who are being governed and the governing group. Democracy was initially referred to as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. The concept of majority rule is promoted through democracy whereby people are given the power to determine who leads them through taking part in an election. Certain forms of democracy include social democracy, liberal democracy, industrial democracy and totalitarian democracy. one of the interesting part of democracy is that people are allowed to take part in government through electing their leaders just the way the government is taking part in public affairs and participating in decision making process of the government.

Conclusion

The theory of social contract is highly significant in the modern world. Many states have adopted the use of contract theory in many ways. The current state of democracy where citizens are given opportunity to elect their leaders, criticize government and even take part in the government decision making processes are the concepts of contract democracy. many countries have also reached the level of political stability through the exercise of democracy. People often show loyalty to the state because of existence of social contract which protects the people against violence and any form of abuse. the existence of this bond aligns the role each party is supposed o play so as to keep the agreement. Social contract has also lead to the creation of three levels of people in the society: the state, the group and an individual. All these categories of people play certain roles which aims at ensuring peace in the society.