Rousseau Social Contract

Social Contract is a theory or model that developed during the Age Of

Enlightenment , that typically addresses the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave then they… each of us puts his person and all his power in the common under the supreme direction of the general will, and, in our corporate capacity, we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole.” – Social

Contract. This quote is saying that humans are pure until society corrupts them, by agreeing to this contract people have to stop only thinking about themselves and think about their

People accept certain restrictions on their social and civic rights in return for a government that will benefit all of society. Social Contract is one of the many foundations of the American Political Systems, it is the belief that the state only exists to serve the people. The poeple are the source of all political power appreciated by the state. As Jean-Jacques Rousseau said “ It is difficult to think nobly when one thinks only of earning a living”. Rousseau was trying to say that Social Contract between people would be a better government than absoute monarchy, more than one individual is going to be making the decision it all comes down to what the people vote for.

Without a government, people live complete freedom. According to social contract theory, governments exist as a result of an implicit contract between the government and the governed. The Social Contract keeps us from having too much freedom which would cause a tyranny. It helps people know their limits and the certain laws they must follow. The Social Contract states that without government, men will ever be at work, so to avoid that, we give up our physical rights for civil