SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

 Theory about legitimacy of government.

 Source of authority of the State.
 Participation of individual in the society
 The basis of all socio- legal processes.

Hobbes uses it in defence of absolutism, Locke in support of limited constitutionalism.

Rousseau is, well, just a dreamer. But each theory is a justification for the legitimacy of
government, as opposed to Acquinas’ theory, which aimed at a legitimacy of law.

THOMAS HOBBES

Histrory:

Born in 1588 to a clergyman named Thomas Hobbes. Graduated from Oxford in 1608. Had
an academic duel with Descartes (who rejected any theory based on end- natural or divine).
Notable works- The Elements of Law, Natural and Politic, but most notable- The Leviathan
in 1651. Times of civil war (tussle between the Crown and the Parliament). Hobbes was on
the royalist side- hence, the concept of absolute sovereignty. For him any government would
be better than the civil war. He longed for stability. So he considered the sovereign as
absolute and subjects did not have the right to rebel. According to him, political obedience =
peace.

Overview of theory:

(1) State of Nature-

 man’s life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. (although criticised for
pessimism, he talks about basic human nature- survival instinct)
 state of nature is a state of war (civil war background)
 he was a realist, as state of nature does exist- savages, cannibalistic tribes, etc.
 Because of rationality in humans, we face the prisoner’s dilemma.
 Hence, the need to enter into a social contract with the leviathan, who is the
absolute sovereign.
(2) The sovereign’s ability to provide adequate protection is directly proportional to
subject’s obligation to obey. (though this has been criticised as being the Achilles’
heel of his theory).
(3) The only natural right Hobbes admits is man’s right to self preservation.

Criticisms:

(1) sovereign’s ability to provide adequate protection is directly proportional to subject’s

obligation to obey- contradicts his premise of absolutism.
(2) Criticisms for cynicism and pessimistic approach.
(3) contradiction to Locke’s theory.

Distinction between Rawls’ social contract:

For Rawls a social contract is a hypothetical not an historical contract. Thus Rawls does not
claim that people actually agree to a particular set of morally defensible principles of justice.
Rather Rawls claims that people would agree to such principles under certain specific
conditions, i.e., veil of ignorance acquired in the Original position. Rawls’ state of ignorance
or natural state (original position) is a positive state whereas Hobbesian man wishes to escape
his natural state and hence embraces the social contract.

JOHN LOCKE

History:

Born in 1632. Lived in the times where he witnessed regicide of Charles I. Time of
experiment in governmental institutions in England. Both Hobbes and Locke lived during
closely overlapping stages of civil war. Perspective was different though, given that both saw
the tussle between the Crown and the Parliament from different standpoints. Locke also saw
the horrors of civil war and the Glorious Revolution. Major works- An Essay on Human
Understanding and Two Treatises in Government, the latter being point of our focus.

Overview of theory:

(1) Men are not naturally free and all government is not the product of force and violence.
(historical contract)
The opposite of force is reason.
(2) His state of nature was the Golden Age- the Eden before the Fall. All humans have
reason and are equal. God’s requirement for all men in the state of nature is that they
live by the law of nature.
(3) Concept of rights and duties. Certain rights were absolute, as opposed to Hobbes’
absolute sovereign.
(4) People are not bound by a tacit consent to obey the law by virtue of being in a
civilized society, but a legitimate government is founded on explicit consent.
(Democracy)
(5) Representative democracy with a right to rebel.
(6) Right of revolution, right to life, liberty and property.

Criticisms:

(1) Filled with logical flaws and gaps. In his An Essay on Human Understanding he said
no idea is innate, but he talked of innate natural rights.
(2) Stress on majoritarianism, though he asserted supremacy of individual rights.

Implications:

(1) Contributed greatly to the idea of fundamental rights of life, liberty and property, civil
rights and parliamentary democracy.
(2) Influenced greatly, the American Constitution.
(3) Utilitarian thought.
JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU

History:

Born in 1712. Maverick philosopher. Influence on Romanticism. Even wrote musical pieces
for opera. Was a Freemason (Freemasonry prohibits discussions on religion and politics).
Major works- Discourse on the Origin on Inequality and On the Social Contract.

Overview of theory:

(1) Basically criticised Hobbes.

(2) Theory of popular sovereignty- direct democracy. Sovereignty of the people cannot be
represented. Sovereign = subject.
(3) Back to nature. Men are naturally good (the noble savage). Civilization corrupts them.
(Revolt against Reason). (reference to Rawls’ Original position).
(4) Paradox of freedom- “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Those who
think themselves the masters of others are indeed greater slaves than they.” “by what
conceivable art has a means been found to make men free by making them subject”.
(5) Community has a corporate personality, and the general will of the community sets
the moral standards for its members
(6) Individual merges into community and becomes part of the general will. Every
individual possesses moral will.
(7) Government is a mere agent of the general will and can only be tolerated so long as it
actually reflects the general will.- collective will.

Criticism:

(1) Utopian idea of natural state of man. Called an escapist.

(2) Got tangled up in his own pursuit to find a ground- he turns to the state and belongs to
it, and then he turns away from it and does not belong to it.
(3) His favour to public passion led to the French revolution.

Implications:

Influenced classical republicanism.

Comparision:

Aspect of the HOBBES LOCKE ROUSSEAU

Theory
State of Nature State of war, no right State of freedom and Ideal state. No war,
and wrong. Pre- equality. Pre- no notion of
political. political property. Post-
(Voldemort) political resort.
Natural Rights Self preservation Life, liberty and Freedom and equality
property. Individual
rights
Social Contract Contract- (unilateral) Mutual Agreement- Contract between
 surrendering of rights (bilateral) through individual and
to the sovereign in explicit consent. community.
exchange for
protection
Absolute status Sovereign Individual rights and General will of the
reason. community
Status of the Absolute Subject to reason and Sovereignty is
Sovereign violation of ingrained in the
individual rights. general will which
Subjects have the cannot be alienated
right to rebel from the subject
itself.
Status of the subjects Surrendered to the Retains rights to life, Sovereign =
sovereign in liberty and property Subjects. Direct
exchange for and the right to rebel democracy. Rejects
protection if these rights are representation.
violated.