Essay On Social Contract

1000 Words4 Pages

The state is an authoritative group of people, for example, the government, who control aspects of their people’s lives. They keep constant watch over us; for instance, closed circuit televisions in public transports. However, do they have the right to interfere into the private life of people? The life distinct from their professional one; the life that includes their social, family life and personal relationships. Some would say that it is not justified or acceptable, others that it is a legal or moral entitlement anyways. Though interference suggests that it is unwanted and nobody would want anyone to intrude into their personal business, there is a line drawn between one’s wants and the need to ensure the best for the majority. The state …show more content…

The social contract’s high point came about in mid-17th to early 19th centuries where theorists studied the human condition without former rules, the ‘state of nature’, or as Thomas Hobbes viewed it, Leviathan, the worst possible state of mankind. He believed that during the time before kings and presidents, humans were beasts at war. Due to their basic nature of security and fear, people surrendered some rights for protection. John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand believed that people are naturally good-natured, and in the state of nature, lived in peaceful harmony. However, with the rising of possessions, some may take more than their share in a bid to guarantee the protection of their inalienable rights. As such, people formed governments and agreed to the consent to be ruled out of mutual respect. Nevertheless, be it out of terror or the sake of equality, the different examinations of the state of nature still led to the formation of governments and the social contract. This shows the effectiveness of the contract. Also, the earliest version of a social contract found was in the 2nd century BC text, which proves the reliability of the contract given that it has lasted so long. Thus, the state has a right as there has been a contract signed, and more so as it maintains the stability of the

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