Social Contract

 “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”  - James Madison

America was created under the principled philosophy of social contract.  This wasn’t a new philosophy by any means and it in fact had been argued, preached, and even practiced as far back as ancient Greece in 400 BC.  The tenants of the social contract however didn’t become popular, or at least well documented until the early 17^th century.  When in 1625 Hugo Grotius presented the idea of “natural rights”.  Grotius also declared that people were “sui juris” (under their own jurisdiction).  In his argument for a moral beginning to society, Grotius states that, 

“even if we were to concede what we cannot concede without the utmost wickedness, that there is no God, these laws would still hold.”

This was a very radical sentiment and was perceived as inflammatory to the church and state.  As it suggested that true power is in the hands of the individual, and can be returned to the individual if governing institutions fail to protect the “natural rights” of the people.  After establishing the notion that everyone has natural rights and is under first and foremost their own control, Hugo Grotius expounds that people should agree upon all individuals are entitled to provide for and preserve themselves.  This moral agreement should ensure against the interfering with of each individual’s pursuit of happiness and avoidance of pain, and that any breach of these rights ought to be punished, thus the necessity of governance. 

John Locke, who furthered the notion of a social contract, was greatly influential as an Enlightenment writer, to the point that he was often quoted by our founding fathers.  Locke argued governments only legitimacy comes from the individuals it governs giving the state the right to protect their interest.  Locke proclaimed the formation of the state was only to protect the “lives, liberty, and property” of those who lived within it.  The social contract is the very basis of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

“Government derives it’s just powers from the consent of the governed.”  - John Locke

As human beings we make decisions based on the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain.  This is known sociological fact, and is what most connects us behaviorally to every other living species.  How humans advance from this basic instinct of choice is by the formation of society.  The social contract is an intellectual explanation of how and why society forms and governs itself.  What makes it so relevant is how it explicates the basis of society lies in morality and ethical behavior.  This has been convoluted through ages of control by religious institutions and inherited rights of power.