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The Theory Of Social Contract

Decent Essays

Contractualism, in general, is whether or not an action is deemed ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ can be understood in terms of contracts, and is furthered with the theory of social contract. Additionally, contractualism can be distinguished from Hobbesian contractualism (also known as contractarianism) and Kantian contractualism, whereby the former looks to contracts made by individuals of a society for the sake of personal gain and benefit, while the latter sees to contracts made by individuals of any given society that consider each other and themselves to be free and equal members of State. The theory of the social contract has existed for the longest time, it speaks of an agreement (or agreements) made by the members of any society and community to give up certain individual freedoms for the betterment of that society itself, i.e state protection and security.

Firstly in history, power was to reside in the country’s monarch, as it was divinely ordained. Over time, however, there was a need for more justification for where power over the state laid other than just simply being ‘divinely granted or ordained’. Thus, during the Siècle des Lumières, England - a country that has for the longest time had a monarch in power (admittedly of which the very same monarch still exists today) entered great political, administrative and constitutional change where England was entering a transformation becoming a modern State. It was during the Siècle des Lumières that the idea of social

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