The Social Contract Theory

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that Rousseau's writings continue to be relevant today, as social contract theorists see morality as a set of rules. The paper explains that for these theorists, the rules govern how people should treat one another. The paper discusses how the social contract theory lays down the laws that supposedly hold society together, but their foundation is a strong sense of self-interest.

From the Paper:

"Like his predecessor Thomas Hobbes, Rousseau believed that the general state of nature was not conducive to the development of a cooperative society. Hobbes believed that people only obey the rule of order due to "fear of death." Hobbes further believed that the Laws of Nature clearly show that life is "nasty, brutish and short." People are constantly engaged in a state of war over scarce resources such as food. Reasonable people will therefore strive to seize what they need, in order to survive. This bleak scenario, according to Hobbes, represented the state of nature, in which humans must somehow survive."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. New York: Penguin Books, 1982
• Rousseau, Jean Jacques. The Social Contract. New York: Penguin Books, 1982

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• Analytical Essay # 142075 : "John Locke's Social Contract Theory"
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• Comparison Essay # 118856 : "Hobbes and Locke on Social Contract Theory"

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