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Social contract theories

Thomas Hobbes John Locke Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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For everyone

According to social contract theories the state gains legitimacy from an agreement people make among themselves. For Hobbes life without the state is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short", so people submit to a strong sovereign. Locke defended a right to resist government that fails to protect life, liberty and property. Rousseau held that sovereignty lies in the people's "general will".

For specialists

Leviathan (1651), the Two Treatises of Government (1689) and The Social Contract (1762) are the classic texts. Rawls's A Theory of Justice (1971) renewed the contract tradition with an original position behind a "veil of ignorance". Critics (Hume, feminist and postcolonial theorists) stressed that the contract was never historically made and that it excluded some groups.

Claims

The legitimacy of political authority rests on the (actual or hypothetical) consent of the governed.^[1][2][3]

Positions

David Hume: Most governments were founded by force or usurpation; the "original contract" is a historical fiction.^[4]

Connections

Parent

Law and politics

Montesquieu and the separation of powers Utilitarianism and consequentialist ethics The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Sources

BookHobbes, T. (1651). Leviathan. Andrew Crooke, Londongutenberg.org archive
BookLocke, J. (1689). Two Treatises of Government. Awnsham Churchill, Londongutenberg.org archive
BookRousseau, J.-J. (1762). Du contrat social. Marc-Michel Rey, Amsterdam
BookHume, D. (1748). Of the Original Contract. Essays, Moral and Political (3rd edition), A. Millar, London

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APA

Athena contributors. (2026). Social contract theories. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/toplum-sozlesmesi/

BibTeX

@misc{athena_toplum_sozlesmesi,
  title        = {Social contract theories},
  author       = {{Athena contributors}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/toplum-sozlesmesi/}},
  note         = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}

Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history

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