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Social Contract Theory

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Societies can be extremely complex. A single society has the possibility to support many different layers of relationships not only between the people populating the society but between the government and the land. Each of these layers is home to different norms and opportunities depending on how they were created and the techniques used to run them. Defining what a society considers human rights and appropriate social interaction may differ from another society’s explanation especially when it involves the mixture of different cultures. Each society has the opportunity to institute social norms, values or beliefs but each individual has the chance to create unique social contracts with every person they come in contact with or have the chance …show more content…

Within each of these relationships is a social contract that explains and regulates the types of interactions that will occur. Social contract theory is the idea that a person’s moral or political obligations depend on a mutual agreement or contract constructed by each party involved. Between individuals there may constantly be an underlying sense of competition which is why it is important to understand the rights that an individual may possess within a society in order to act appropriately. Between an individual and the governing body, there may be a sense of protection. If the terms of the contract between people are somehow broken or not obeyed, then they may decide to withdraw from the contract allowing for the opportunity to create a new social contract or avoid getting involved in another one. The regulations of social contract theories, much like natural rights, are not always spelled out and differ when pertaining to different situations or under altered …show more content…

An efficient way to simplify the density of such relationships is to establish regulations or norms for that area. Even though this concept sounds extremely simple, it is the farthest thing from it. This process will call for the determining and explanation of human rights and who has them. It will also call into question if not everyone, then who has rights, why do they have such rights and what rights they are. Once that daunting task is complete, then it is critical to outline social contracts between all those who will be interacting within that society. It is clear that there are endless possibilities when it comes to societies but that is what makes the human population so

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