Explain the views of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau regarding social contract theory.
Answers
In the book, 'The Leviathan' Thomas Hobbes explained his theory of social contract.
According to Thomas Hobbes ,” Without any society man's life was like an animal. The individual gives up all the rights to form a society to some power and he has no right to Question the authority and obeyed all the orders given.
The social contract among people show them a way to the formation of a state and supreme power.
According to John Locke ,”That men had surrender some rights but not all the rights i.e rights to life, liberty and property to the state and the only important role of the state is to give justice.
According to Rousseau ,” That man was a independent individual. The people are the real rulers. He came up with the idea that the 'general will' of the people. The government is dependent on the sovereign of the people.
The three contractualists are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau.
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Answer:
Explanation:
The Individual and the Social Contract Theory
A very popular theory on the origin of society is the social contract theory which states that society came to exist out of people’s desire to have harmony in their community. According to this, society was established because of the agreement entered into by the individuals in the community to form a set of laws and rules to which they must conform and abide Social contract implies that the individuals in the community must surrender some of their liberties in exchange for social order.
Three classical philosophers, namely Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau have different conceptions of this primordial “contract”. However, they share the same idea that the social contract demands the government to secure the lives of the citizens, and protect their remaining liberties and properties. Such liberal perspective later became ideological foundations of two of the most popular revolutions in the history, the American and the French revolutions.
Thomas Hobbes in his “Leviathan,” claims that man created a government and surrendered his several rights and freedom out of fear---fear of death. Hobbes put premium on the doctrine of self-preservation that he formulated his law of nature:
The law seems to be an explained and detailed version of the Golden rule which Hobbes strongly advocated.
In Leviathan, Hobbes also proposed the ideal state and government for man. He proposed the idea of the “artificial man” where he described the political entity such a state or a nation with reference to the human body as a model:
Though Hobbes took more pessimistic route in views on human nature, there is no question that his philosophy shaped the world’s perspective on government laws. Today, you often hear proposals that a person must submit his/her liberty in exchange for security. Now you know where such idea came from.
On the other hand, English philosopher John Locke took a more positive road in describing human nature and banked on the idea that people are innately good. He conceived the idea that a person’s nature is happy, reasonable, and tolerant. According to Locke, the government was created under a social contract and was given the responsibility to uphold the natural law and guaranteed the rights proceeding from such law:
Locke also advocated a government with supreme power of legislation. This government postulates the idea of equality where there should only be one rule for the rich and poor, that imposition of taxes must be through the consent of the people. He also proposed that the daily business of the state must be performed by the executive body, such as the power to make war and peace, as well as the desire to make alliances. Locke also developed the notion that in the direst of circumstances, the people have the right and moral obligation to overthrow a corrupt government.
Meanwhile, French philosopher and political analyst Jean-Jacques Rousseau started his social contract with a provocative text: “Men are born free, yet everywhere they are in chains.” He went on describing the multitude of “chains” that hinders a person from achieving the fruits of his/her freedom. Rousseau claimed that the civil society did nothing to ensure the observance of equality and imposition of individual liberty which by implication must be given to a person by virtue of the social contract. For him, the only legitimate government is one which was established by the people themselves who entered into a social contract for purposes of their mutual preservation.
Rousseau interpreted the social contract as an answer to the inequalities and justices that sprung from early societies:
The basic principle that could derive out studying the versions of the three classical philosophers on their views about social contract is that compromise is the essential ingredient to attain social order. In a way, people must surrender their individual freedoms to ensure safety, liberty, and their right to property.