Social Contract Theory

The philosophy that government does not have absolute authority. Thomas Hobbes did not believe that there should be many limits on government, but he did not think that a sovereign could do anything that would injure his or her subjects

The philosophy regarding how humans would act in their most basic state without a civil government. Thomas Hobbes believed the state of nature in which man lived before the formation of society was founded on a savage selfishness, which drove man to obtain pleasure without concern for justice or mercy toward other men

Thomas Hobbes believed that in the state of nature, people were always at war with one another, a war of all against all. Each individual was endowed with the right to do anything they pleased and people were in constant fear of their lives.

Rights that cannot be taken away from anyone, for example freedom of speech

The belief that all persons, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, age, etc., have the same rights as everyone else

The political theory that governments gain their authority from their people. A government is not legitimate if the people do not give their consent.

The idea that people join groups, and these groups make a presence known as a society. A social contract is the compact that the people agree form rules and conditions for membership in their society.

The belief that all persons are entitled to equal rights and treatment before the law.

Occurs after people leave the state of nature. Signs of this transfer are: people act on rules of justice rather than on instinct, physical impulse replaced by the voice of duty, and people consult reason rather than inclinations. By entering civil society people gain civil liberty and the legal right of property in what he posses. They also gain moral freedom, making people masters of themselves.

The authority to rule is granted to the government by the people who make a contract with the government. Each side has obligations which must be met for the contract to be valid.