The Social Contract Tradition: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau
ABSTRACT: The classical contract tradition of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau have enjoyed such fame and acceptance as being basic to the development of liberal democratic theory and practice that it would be heretical for any scholar, especially one from the fringes, to critique. But the contract tradition poses challenges that must be given the flux in the contemporary socio-political universe that at once impels extreme nationalism and unavoidable globalism. This becomes all the more important not in order to dislodge the primacy of loyalty and reverence to this tradition but from another perspective which hopes to encourage that the anchorage of disclosure be implemented. The contract tradition makes pronouncements on what is natural and what is nonnatural. It offers what many have contended are rigorous arguments for these pronouncements that are "intuitive," "empirical," "logical," "psychological," "moral," "religio-metaphysical." What I offer in this essay is a challenge from the outside. I ask: 1) on what empirical data are the material presuppositions of contractarianism built? 2) what is the epistemological foundation of contractarianism? 3) is contractarianism not derivable from any other form of sociological presupposition except that of the state of nature? 4) does any human know a "state of nature"? 5) given the answers to the above questions, to what extent are the legal and moral foundations of contractarianism sacrosanct? I attempt to answer these questions in what can only be a sketch, but my answers suggest that it is very presumptuous of contractarianist to suppose that they have captured the only logically valid basis of democratic practice universally.
Introduction
The classical social contract tradition of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau have, in spite of their variation in themes and emphases, enjoyed such fame and acceptance as being basic to the development of liberal democratic theory and practice that it would be almost heresy for any scholar, especially one from the fringes or margins of mainstream (socio-political) philosophical academia, to post frontal, side, arial, rear or sub-surface attack and critique. But the social contract tradition poses challenges that must be accepted on various counts, with new insights and interpretations, given the fluxed reality in contemporary socio-political universe that at once impels extreme nationalism and unavoidable globalism. This becomes all the more important, not simply in order to dislodge the primacy of the loyalty and the reverence of devotion from the followers of this tradition
For those who are familiar with John Locke’s social contract should remember that as an individual we give up certain freedoms that we see fit in order to protect our basic rights to life, liberty, and property. If an individual breaks this “contract” then why should they reape its protection. If someone violates the terms of a contract then they lose all that it entails. Why should it be any different in this situation. The individual has willing broken the contract and should suffer as anyone else would in this certain situation. By taking away the rights to life of someone else that person has forfeit their own. This means that they officially become the state 's property does it not? This is something to think of as it would completely change the system by which our criminals of a caliber as high as this would be tried. People that argue against this ask for a sympathetic role to which leads the question to,”To what are you appealing?” At this point they are already unable to contribute back to society. They are in a word a parasite leeching away at the life of those that follow the rules that they as a part of society have created and contribute to.
American people look at their insurance bills, co-pays and drug costs, and can't understand why they continue to increase. The insured should consider all of these reasons before getting upset. In 2004, employee health care premiums increased over 11 percent, four times more than the rate of inflation. In 2003, premiums rose 10.1 percent and in 2002 they rose 15 percent. Employee spending for coverage increased 126 percent between 2000 and 2004. Those increases were lower than expected. (National Coalition on Health Care, 2005, Facts on health care costs). Premiums have risen five times faster than workers wages, on average. If medical spending continues to rise by just two percent more than personal income, by 2040 Medicare and Medicaid would hit 18.5 percent of the gross domestic product, leading the federal deficit to be 20.7 of the gross domestic product. (Melcer, R., 2004, St Louis Post-Dispatch, Rising Costs of healthcare pose huge challenges).
Bipartisan Policy Center. (2012). What is driving U.S. healthcare spending? America’s unsustainable healthcare cost growth. Retrieved from http: //www. Bipartisanpolicy.org
Pinn, Anthony B., and Paul Easterling. "Followers Of Black Jesus On Alert: Thoughts On The
Everytime a kid does his homework, correctly, they are possibly advancing their knowledge and understanding of the subject at hand. Although, Alfie Kohn, author of the book “The Homework Myth” states, “Such policies sacrifice thoughtful instruction in order to achieve predictability, and they manage to do a disservice not only to students but, when imposed from above, to teachers as well” (Suhay). Not all homework will be beneficial. It can harm
Since the 60s, government budgets have been influenced by the need to finance healthcare especially the cost of Medicare and Medicaid benefits. According to CMS’ National Health Expenditure Projections , total health care expenditures have grown by an average of 2.5 percentage points faster per year than the nation‘s Gross Domestic Product. For about 60 percent of workers who receive some form of health care coverage from their employers, the cost of their health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses have increased significantly faster than their own wages; and between 1999 and 2008, both average health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, co-payments for medications, and co-insura...
The article “Students and Homework,” written by Josephine Campbell, describes a very important topic in education. Homework has always been an essential part of the American education system. Although not required in a vast amount of school districts, many educators recur to this resource for various purposes such as a remedial strategy or method of advancement. Throughout history, the concept has been taken from different approaches in regards of the time period and overall purpose of assigning. However, it was during the time period that involved the space race with the Soviets that homework was specifically encouraged to improve the United States’ educational system. As of today, homework is still revolutionizing the concept of education
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. “The Social Contract”. Modern Political Thought, Second Edition. Ed. David Wootton. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2008. 427-487.
According to research done by the University of Michigan, elementary school students in 1981 spent forty-four minutes a week on homework. Sixteen years later 9-12 year olds had an increase of almost two more hours a week (Ratnesar 313). A 1983 government report, A Nation at Risk, caught the attention of the American Education System. The article explained the failings of the American school. It explained how education is declining, and teachers need to get tough on their students again. This prompted...
Rousseau’s version of the social contract depends on his characteristics of “the state of nature”. Rousseau once said “Man is born
Many of the greatest thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries theorized about human nature. Many like John Locke believed that living minds were like a blank slate. Others such as Thomas Hobbes believed people were born “bad or brutish”. These philosophies were shaped by their views on the English Revolution. Hobbes and Locke both experienced many things during their lifetime that influenced the way they constructed their philosophies. The events in their lives were clearly evident when they talked about human nature and the social contract.
John Locke’s social contract theory applies to all types of societies in any time era. Although, Jean-Jacques Rousseau did write during the Renaissance era, his philosophy limits itself to fix the problem of an absolute monarchy and fails to resolve other types of societies. These philosophers have such profound impacts on modern day societies. For example, the United States’ general will is codified in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, meanwhile individual rights are distinguished in the Declaration of
Thomas Hobbes creates a clear idea of the social contract theory in which the social contract is a collective agreement where everyone in the state of nature comes together and sacrifices all their liberty in return to security. “In return, the State promises to exercise its absolute power to maintain a state of peace (by punishing deviants, etc.)” So are the power and the ability of the state making people obey to the laws or is there a wider context to this? I am going to look at the different factors to this argument including a wide range of critiques about Hobbes’ theory to see whether or not his theory is convincing reason for constantly obeying the law.
These activities, not homework will ensure that our children are happy and competitive in a highly competitive world.” (Bennett and Kalish). Homework may cause more harm to students and children at such an early age rather than having a positive effect. Others claim that homework regulation is a serious matter that should have parents more aware of this issue. If teachers would either regulate the amount of homework they assign, then students would actually be able to enjoy their school years before entering the working
Dell’Antonia, KJ. “Homework’s Emotional Toll On Students and Families.” New York Times. 12 03 2014 n.