Hobbes' Social Contract
Created | Updated Oct 19, 2012
Okay here's the scoop with Hobbes. Way back when (like 17th 18th century AD if i'm not mistaken) Hobbes came up with this wonderful idea that governments were created by a series of people entering into social contracts with each other. Before these social contracts were in place, however, people lived in the State of Nature which was to put it quite frankly a living hell. The state of nature was absolute anarchy, in the state of nature your lives were always in danger and your possessions were always in danger because there was no set of rules by which to live by. It was the mutual consent between two parties that led to the formation of many, many social contracts with similar beliefs which led to the governments. The series can best be illustrated by an analogy about Og and Mog.
Og and Mog were cavemen. Og would always steal Mog's fruit and Mog would always steal Og's meat. After a while of all of this stealing between each other Og and Mog came to an agreement. Og said that he'd stop stealing Mog's fruit if Mog would stop stealing his meat. Og and Mog agreed to these terms and that set in place a social contract. Now after a while Og and Mog were out hunting and Og was being attacked. If they hadn't entered into the social contract that they did Mog most likely would have thought, "Og steals my fruit, why should I protect him? If he dies then I can go and take all of his meat." (in slightly cruder words seeing as the time period that they were in...) But seeing as they had entered into this 'social contract,' another provision was that they would protect each other and share resources so Mog then ought to have (had a moral obligation to) protecting Og. After a while more and more people come into this "Caveman's Social Contract," and a structure of government and heirarchy could have been established. Methods of keeping the peace could be enforced by some people, others could be hunters, others gatherers, others researchers into new ideas etc.
The one big thing that you must remember is that social contracts happen on individual levels, not on community levels.
Hobbes said in his book "Leviathan" that te only job of any government is to protect the lives of its citizens; so, by any means necessary, as long as the ends are to protect the citizens of the government, anything is justified.
And now for a quick practical application just to maybe explani it a little better: This whole U.S. vs. Iraq thing, or any war for that matter is justified under Hobbes' Social Contract because the governments of those societies was protecting its citizens and that is all they need to do. The governments can take away citizens rights because they are given to them by the government in the first place, and the governmetn only neesds to protect the lives of its citizens in the first place so there is always a justifiable means for the end of protection of citizens of the government.
Og and Mog were cavemen. Og would always steal Mog's fruit and Mog would always steal Og's meat. After a while of all of this stealing between each other Og and Mog came to an agreement. Og said that he'd stop stealing Mog's fruit if Mog would stop stealing his meat. Og and Mog agreed to these terms and that set in place a social contract. Now after a while Og and Mog were out hunting and Og was being attacked. If they hadn't entered into the social contract that they did Mog most likely would have thought, "Og steals my fruit, why should I protect him? If he dies then I can go and take all of his meat." (in slightly cruder words seeing as the time period that they were in...) But seeing as they had entered into this 'social contract,' another provision was that they would protect each other and share resources so Mog then ought to have (had a moral obligation to) protecting Og. After a while more and more people come into this "Caveman's Social Contract," and a structure of government and heirarchy could have been established. Methods of keeping the peace could be enforced by some people, others could be hunters, others gatherers, others researchers into new ideas etc.
The one big thing that you must remember is that social contracts happen on individual levels, not on community levels.
Hobbes said in his book "Leviathan" that te only job of any government is to protect the lives of its citizens; so, by any means necessary, as long as the ends are to protect the citizens of the government, anything is justified.
And now for a quick practical application just to maybe explani it a little better: This whole U.S. vs. Iraq thing, or any war for that matter is justified under Hobbes' Social Contract because the governments of those societies was protecting its citizens and that is all they need to do. The governments can take away citizens rights because they are given to them by the government in the first place, and the governmetn only neesds to protect the lives of its citizens in the first place so there is always a justifiable means for the end of protection of citizens of the government.
