Who are the three social contract theorists?

Three Enlightenment thinkers are usually credited with establishing a standard view of social contract theory: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. They each had different interpretations of social contracts, but the underlying idea was similar.

What is an example of social contract theory?

Social contract theory says that people live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior. The U.S. Constitution is often cited as an explicit example of part of America’s social contract. It sets out what the government can and cannot do.

Why is the social contract theory important to democracy?

As opposed to state of nature, social contract brought about development of states which enhanced citizen’s democracy. Social contract facilitated rationale to the state citizens as they had better understanding of political theories by capturing the social contract concepts.

Who is the father of social contract theory?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), in his influential 1762 treatise The Social Contract, outlined a different version of social-contract theory, as the foundations of society based on the sovereignty of the ‘general will’.

What political thinkers are associated with social contract theory?

Although similar ideas can be traced to the Greek Sophists, social-contract theories had their greatest currency in the 17th and 18th centuries and are associated with the English philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke and the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. …

What is social contract theory by Hobbes?

Hobbes is famous for his early and elaborate development of what has come to be known as “social contract theory”, the method of justifying political principles or arrangements by appeal to the agreement that would be made among suitably situated rational, free, and equal persons.

What is democracy for John Locke?

Departing from views that still prevailed among political philosophers of his time, Locke held—as the Levelers did—that democracy did not require a small political unit, such as a city-state, in which all members of the dēmos could participate in government directly.

What is the Social Contract Theory of democracy?

A social contract theory has played major role in enhancing political democracy in western political theory. According to Dunn (1993, p28), Westerners have been in a position to exercise their democracy as citizens with rights to make their own decision when voting.

Is social contract theory still relevant?

Social contract theory is undoubtedly with us for the foreseeable future. But so too are the critiques of such theory, which will continue to compel us to think and rethink the nature of both ourselves and our relations with one another. 6. References and Further Reading

Do social contracts have a congruent impact on Western political theory?

Thus, social contracts have had a congruent impact to the western political theory (Jones 2002, p.165).

What is the Social Contract Theory in the declaration of Independence?

Once the tyrant is deposed, the people create a new social contract in place of the old one. These ideas were at the heart of the Declaration of Independence. According to social contract theory, governments exist as a result of an implicit contract between the government and the governed.