Hobbes social contract

Hobbes social contract Name: Professor: Institution: Date: A social contract is an agreement between different individuals, parties, government or communities where mutual benefits occur for the good of the contacting parties. Social contract exposes the relationship and conflict between natural and legal rights. Individuals consent either expressly or impliedly to obey and surrender some of their freedoms to the authority in return for protection of their rights. Thomas Hobbes who happens to have lived during the period of the English Civil War was the first modern philosopher to devise a theory on the social contract. He came up with various propositions. The main basis of the social contract is that societal obligations, be they moral, political or both, depend on the covenant that bind those who agree to form the society (Roland, 2004). Based on the covenant or covenants, people agree to forego their interests for the benefit of the general society, safe for all to live. Institutions are mainly used to enforce restrictions in order to achieve a stable society. Individuals on the their part must accept such restrictions and abide to the accepted mode of conduct. Hobbes gave an overview on the justification for political obligation: He purported that men are rational beings who are born with strong desire for life and pleasure. Men will always choose to surrender to the authority of a sovereign head if this will enable them to live in a civil society, conducive and in favor of their own interests. Hobbes makes the above argument by taking a purely hypothetical imagination of men in their natural state whereby there is no power to compel them to cooperate (Rousseau, 1763). Men are in one way, or the other equal to each other and even the strongest and most superior have fear over the rest. Given that there are limited resources, the society would be unbearable for men in their n...