social contract

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History & Society

social contract

political philosophy

Also known as: contractual theory of society

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 • Article History

Thomas Hobbes

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Category: History & Society

Key People:: John Locke; Thomas Hobbes; Carole Pateman

Related Topics:: constitutionalism; social structure; state of nature; consent

On the Web:: World History Encyclopedia - Social Contract (Mar. 29, 2024)

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social contract, in political philosophy, an actual or hypothetical compact, or agreement, between the ruled or between the ruled and their rulers, defining the rights and duties of each. In primeval times, according to the theory, individuals were born into an anarchic state of nature, which was happy or unhappy according to the particular version of the theory. They then, by exercising natural reason, formed a society (and a government) by means of a social contract. Although similar ideas can be traced to the Greek Sophists, social-contract theories had their greatest currency in the 17th and 18th centuries and are ...(100 of 1121 words)

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