The social contract is an agreement between the members of a community.
A contract is an agreement that can be established in writing or orally. Social , for its part, is that linked to society : a community of individuals with common interests.
The idea of a social contract is used in the field of law , sociology and political science to refer to the agreement that takes place within a group of individuals. The concept assumes that all members are in favor of what has been agreed, agreeing to submit to common rules and recognizing the existence of an authority that regulates order.
Social contract theory
This theory of the social contract is used to explain the origin of the State . Human beings, with the intention of living together in society, implicitly establish a social contract that provides them with certain rights , but that in exchange requires them to leave aside the freedom that they would have if they lived in a natural state since they must submit to the laws. The clauses of the social contract, in this way, establish the rights and obligations of citizens, with the State being the institution that people agree to create to guarantee compliance with the agreement in question.
Men, in short, delegate the use of force to the State, which has the power to legitimately exercise violence so that the social contract is respected. It is important to keep in mind that the terms of the social contract are not natural and, therefore, can be modified according to the will of individuals.
The characteristics of the social contract can change for various reasons, and the most common of all is the evolution of life in society , of ideas about justice and freedom , which generate an impact that is impossible to resist in the history of being. human. The milestones of our existence as a species mark a before and after that forever modifies this tacit and implicit contract, adding, removing or amending clauses so that they reflect the most recent image we have of ourselves.
The social contract makes life in society possible.
The view of the Greek philosophers
Greek philosophers were already debating this topic, and that is why we have some documents that can help us study it in depth. For example, we have Plato 's work titled The Republic , which brings together a series of ideas that he considered fundamental to his philosophy . In short, it is a dialogue between Socrates and various people, among whom are some of his disciples and family members.
One of these people is Glaucon of Athens , brother of Plato himself, who also devoted himself to philosophy. According to him, justice is a pact that is born from selfish rational beings. On the other hand, the philosopher Epicurus of Samos reflects on politics and assures that natural law does not exist, and that the concept of justice was born when human beings began to be aware of the common good.
According to Epicurus , our ancestors lived immersed in violence and had no knowledge of the common good , until the social contract emerged: from then on, they stopped hurting each other and began to walk a common path , thanks to which our species It has been and can evolve. His vision of the reality prior to this pact has been debated on many occasions.
The social contract according to Rousseau
One of the leading theorists of the social contract is Jean-Jacques Rousseau , who actually wrote a work known as “The Social Contract” in the 18th century.
For Rousseau , human beings accept to renounce their natural state voluntarily to submit to the rules of society, with the aim of obtaining their own benefits that arise from social exchange. This voluntary consent is specified through the social contract.