Ethical Theory: Social Contract Theory The Social Contract Theory is the ethical theory concerning the relationship between the citizen and the government. The chief architects of the theory include Enlightenment thinkers and political theorists, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke whose theories were foundational in the Founding Fathers establishment of the United States. The theory chiefly focuses on the need for some type of regulating body over the affairs of mankind due to the nature of unregulated human behavior. It also focuses on and explains a different means by which the legitimacy of the State is gained, a theory that differed from monarchical legitimacy and is based on a contractual agreement. Hobbes’ theory of …show more content…
The arguments mentioned above each focus on the fetus or human life and rights of the baby, the pragmatic approach examines the conditions under which the woman conceives. This approach to the issue of abortion establishes a sort of ethical hierarchy to ‘the most acceptable’ conditions under which it occurs. The same hierarchical nature is applied to the most acceptable reasons under which an abortion can take place. This approach solely examines the motivations of the woman and differentiates between self-caused (intentional) pregnancy and accidental pregnancy and justifiable reasons for pregnancy. The nature of the ethics of abortion are so convoluted given that they involve a unique two person situation with potential and actual rights that come into …show more content…
The practical application of this debate comes in the form of social welfare policy and politics and class disparity. Those who are in favor of social welfare policies argue from the position that this is a basic right that should be given and guaranteed when it cannot be achieved without assistance. Those who would argue against economic justice and basic needs being met are those that would take an individualistic approach. Throughout history, there have always been disproportionate concentrations of resources among people. Objectively, with a smaller amount of people controlling the majority of the resources which creates a large scarcity or resource insecurity in a much larger swathe of the population. The argument against social welfare policy and supporting those takes the stance that people should not be given things when they have the capability to achieve those things. This argument is a microcosmic argument in that it does not examine the systems in which these people prepare and live. The stance against welfare policy claims that it will promote laziness and allows people to fail if they do not have the internal drive to achieve their needs, if they will not work for those needs then they must not be actual needs. The other aspect of this argument
The idea of the welfare state can mean something different in each and every country. There is an ideal model of the welfare state which is where society accepts the responsibility for things such as the ground work and the provision of wide ranging and
Human beings overcame their unpleasant condition, says the social contract theory, by agreeing with one another to create a state. By contract, people within a given agreed agreed to give up to the state as much power as was needed to promote the safety and well-being of all. In the contract, the members of the state created a government to
Thousands of people are signed up to receive welfare in America, this program is designed to aid poor and needy families. However, it has become some people’s way of earning an income. Several argue against and say that welfare is not destroying our country and creating a dependent people who have learned to abuse certain privileges that come with living in this nation.
First, this paper will show whether or not welfare works in the society through three perspectives: the proponent 's view, opponent 's view, and my personal view. The first perspective about the United States ' welfare system is the proponent 's view. Joseph Westfall, a research assistant at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, stated that proponents of welfare argue that "government is responsible for organizing the redistribution of the goods necessary to satisfy all society members ' basic needs or of the money to purchase these goods" (Westfall). This statement, essentially, sums up what
As Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist once famously said, “It’s about the economy stupid!” This world is run by money, and inevitably there are the haves and the have-nots. The welfare state is a system which offers a grouping of benefits geared towards helping all members of society achieve prosperity and be successful members of society, however it is often criticized and debated in the US. The welfare state is not obsolete, as it fosters educational development to help solidify the future, and keeps from creating a reliance on welfare, all without excessively depleting the US of its monetary funds.
“Abortion is the spontaneous or artificially induced expulsion of an embryo or fetus” (Abortion, 2002). An artificially induced abortion is the type referred to in the legal context. Abortions happen in different situations. The question comes when is it the right or wrong choice. The root question becomes the moment a fetus becomes a person and entitled to rights. The fetus could be a person at conception, during the pregnancy, or at birth. The deciding moment differs from the Pro-life group and Pro-choice group. After critically analyzing four different arguments about the pros and cons of abortion, one will be able to understand the ethical, moral, and
"The current federal system of government in the United States is failing to meet its social contract obligations to the American people." There is nothing closer to the truth than this statement. While some may argue that the government is following the guidelines of a social contract, many aspects of the government have outgrown their britches and taken over.
The history of welfare reform reveals that the question of personal responsibility versus assistance to those in need has been a constant in the debate over welfare. In the 1950s and 1960s, welfare reform was limited to various states' attempts to impose residency requirements on welfare applicants and remove illegitimate children from the welfare rolls. During the 1970s advocates of welfare reform promoted the theory of
This essay will consider whether the welfare state has eliminated poverty. It will examine what poverty is and how the definition varies from societies. The essay will look at the aims of the welfare state from conception and how it has changed to present times. The welfare state being analysed is the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It will discuss the nature of the social democratic welfare state and liberal criticisms of the problems this type of state brings. The recent changes to the welfare state will be reviewed and what the consequences of the changes may be. It will then look at recent statistics to determine whether the welfare state has eradicated poverty.
Rousseau's principal aim in writing The Social Contract is to determine how freedom may be possible in civil society, and we might do well to pause briefly and understand what he means by "freedom." In the state of nature we enjoy the physical freedom of having no restraints on our behavior. By entering into the social contract, we place restraints on our behavior, which make it possible to live in a community. By giving up our physical freedom, however, we gain the civil freedom of being able to think rationally. We can put a check on our impulses and desires, and thus learn to think morally. The term "morality" only has significance within the confines of civil
The main expression of the Social Contract Theory is to explore whether there is a legitimate political authority, "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains no." He said political authority in our natural state does not exist, so we need a social contract in a social contract, everyone abandon natural freedom, and obtain freedom of contract; in the process of political participation, only everyone equally renounce all natural freedom, assigned to the collectivity, human beings can get equal
According to Feiser (2017), philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, social contract theories is the need to have protection over the people from practicing harmful behavior in the society. A nation cannot coexist efficiently without governing rules and laws since people would behave according to personal interest without minding community welfare (Friend, 2017). The existence of social contract theories limits people to act in harmful and wicked ways and to live as they desire without rules and laws. Therefore, the social contract brings people to a common understanding without exempting the rich, the poor, or the minority in the society.
In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes lays out the hypothetical principal of the state of nature, where human it-self is artificial. It is human nature that people will not be able to love permanently, everyone against everyone power between the strongest. In this nation-state you must be the strongest in order to survive (survival of the fittest). In order to survive there are laws we must follow, to insure of our security because of fear. We were able to suppress our fear, by creating order, to have more order; we must have security, so the social contract appeared.
The question set is so broad that I shall have to be selective. I shall conduct my answer in relation to the British Welfare State. Before we can successfully understand the function of the Welfare State we must first be clear of its definition. Although I recognise that Britain has a long history of providing forms of welfare to its citizens though relief like the poor-law between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, I intend to look at the post-war history of the Welfare State. I shall then move on to looking at the main provisions that the British Welfare State makes and how it works in a constantly changing society. I shall focus on the intimate relationship between the Welfare State and
to leave the rental for the dish washing at $1 per week for a further