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The Theories Of The Social Contract Theory

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It is apposite at this juncture to define what social contract connotes. Social contract is the voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the relations among its members.
The social contract theory or model was originated during the age of enlightment. Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler or magistrate (or to the decision of a majority), in exchange for protection of their remaining rights.

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They too did not want chaos. But a careful reasoning will bring to fore that these rights preceded the state and therefore they were not gifts of the state. The coercive power of the state became secondary to the reliance on individual virtue, that is, order would result from individuals pursuing their self-interests while remaining mindful of their social contract obligations. These ideas produced the great liberal traditions that led to the sovereignty of the people and liberal democracy, a universal claim for genuine autonomy of the individual in a democratic society.

Thomas Hobbes believed that politics should be based on the desire of power and the fear of death. He advocated for the creation of a powerful state, what he called a “Leviathan”. (“A government to protect the people from one another to keep them in awe”) In the “Social Contract” Hobbes said that men should give up rights to an authority to act for them, on their behalf. He said that sovereign authority had to be absolute to overcome fear of death in nature. With this said, it basically meant that the governments only reason for existing was for the safety of the people. He also believed that no person was subject to any power above them, so there was no certain power to protect any one power from

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