Foundational Social Contract Theories: Locke, Rousseau, Hobbes

John Locke's Liberal Social Contract

Locke's political thought is of great importance, as it forms the theoretical basis of the modern liberal state. His key tenets include:

1. According to Locke, man is a social being by nature, possessing certain natural rights.
2. In the state of nature, the most important rights are security and property. However, this coexistence may lead to excessive 'interest,' causing insecurity.
3. Therefore, to address these interests, Locke advocates for building a state that guarantees the life and property of its members. The state's mission is to serve its members, ensuring their welfare and protecting their property, which it may not dispose of.
4. To prevent any abuse of power or interests, power is split between the legislature and the executive. Both branches are intended to remain balanced; if not, the legislature will dominate the executive.

Rousseau's Social Contract Theory

Rousseau found the theories of Hobbes and Locke inadequate. Hobbes's contract, he argued, sacrifices natural freedom without establishing true political or civil liberties. Unlike Locke, Rousseau sought a more radical contract where individuals could retain all their rights while gaining civil liberty. He believed that real social ties must be based on a free contract, transitioning from natural liberty to civil and political freedom in favor of the community. This creates a near-perfect society, whose guiding principle is the general will. Humans are subject to the law that they themselves have imposed because:

1. All individuals are in the same situation.
2. It institutes a social and political order that is fair and legitimate.
3. It creates a community where individuals become citizens with rights and duties, actively involved in a political organization and a state governed by the rule of law.

Hobbes's Contract of Submission

Thomas Hobbes's contractarian theory regarding the origin of the state is often referred to as the Contract of Submission. This theory emphasizes the subjection of individuals to the absolute power of the state. Its core assumptions are as follows:

• Man and the state are matter in motion.
• The instinct of self-preservation and the pursuit of power are primary drivers.
• Human passions inevitably clash, leading to a state of perpetual war where 'man is a wolf to man' (homo homini lupus). This necessitates a common, absolute power – the State.

Consequently, in the Hobbesian state, individuals are not citizens but subjects.