Before the contract: medieval ideas of power
In medieval Europe, most writers linked political power to God and tradition. The divine right of kings said that a monarch was chosen by God and answered only to God. Church thinkers such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas taught that rulers should follow God's law and natural law, and that society is a natural, ordered body where everyone has a place.
Similar ideas of sacred kingship existed in many parts of the world. The big change came in the 1600s–1700s: thinkers began to say power comes from the people.
What is a social contract?
A contract is an agreement. A social contract is an imagined agreement in which people accept rules and a government so they can live together safely.
It is a thought experiment, not a real event. The steps are: (1) imagine the state of nature (life with no government); (2) ask what problems people face there; (3) ask what agreement sensible people would make; (4) use that to judge what a legitimate (rightful) government is.
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679): safety first
Hobbes lived through the English Civil War, so he feared disorder. In his book Leviathan (1651) he said that in the state of nature people are equal, selfish and fearful. Life would be a "war of all against all", and very short and unhappy.
To escape, people agree to give up almost all their freedom to a sovereign (a ruler or assembly) with near-absolute power. The only thing people keep is the right to protect their own life. Order matters more than liberty.
John Locke (1632–1704): rights and limited government
Locke, in Two Treatises of Government (1689), saw the state of nature as more peaceful. People already have natural rights to life, liberty and property, given by reason. The problem is that there is no fair judge to settle disputes.
So people agree to form a government by consent, only to protect those rights. Its power is limited, often divided between law-makers and those who carry out laws. If a government abuses its power, people have the right to resist and replace it. These ideas shaped the American Declaration of Independence and modern ideas of rights.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778): the general will
Rousseau opened The Social Contract (1762) with the idea that people are born free but everywhere live in chains. He believed humans in the state of nature were simple and kind, and that private property and inequality corrupted them.
His fix: everyone gives themselves to the whole community. The people together are sovereign (popular sovereignty). Laws should express the general will: what is good for all, not the sum of private wishes. Obeying such laws is real freedom, because you obey rules you made yourself. His ideas inspired the French Revolution and direct democracy.
Comparing the three, and criticisms
- Human nature: Hobbes, selfish and fearful; Locke, reasonable; Rousseau, good but spoiled by society.
- Who holds power: Hobbes, an absolute sovereign; Locke, a limited government by consent; Rousseau, the whole people.
- Right to rebel: Hobbes, almost none; Locke, yes if rights are violated; Rousseau, the people are always sovereign.
Criticisms: no one actually signed such a contract; early versions left out women, enslaved people and non-property owners; the general will could be used to silence minorities. Later thinkers such as Kant and John Rawls reworked the idea into theories of justice.
Try it: write your own class contract
With friends, imagine your class has no teacher and no rules for a week (state of nature). List three problems that would happen. Then write a five-rule agreement. Decide: who enforces it? Can the class remove that person? Which thinker is your contract closest to?
Key formulas and definitions
- Divine right: power comes from God to the king
- State of nature: imagined life with no government
- Social contract: agreement that creates legitimate government
- Hobbes: fear → absolute sovereign → safety (Leviathan, 1651)
- Locke: natural rights (life, liberty, property) → limited government by consent → right to resist (1689)
- Rousseau: popular sovereignty → general will → freedom through self-made laws (1762)
- Legitimacy: the rightful basis of power
Worked examples
1. A town has no police and no courts. Thefts increase and people start carrying weapons. Which thinker's picture fits best, and what would he propose?
Hobbes. He would say the town is falling into a 'war of all against all' and people should hand power to a strong authority that can keep order.
2. A government starts taking people's land without any law or payment. What would Locke say?
The government exists only to protect life, liberty and property. By taking property without consent it breaks the contract, so people have a right to resist and replace it.
3. A village decides every rule in a meeting where all adults speak and vote for the common good. Whose idea is this closest to?
Rousseau: the people are sovereign and law expresses the general will.
4. How is the social contract idea different from divine right?
Divine right says power comes down from God to a ruler, so people must obey. The social contract says power comes up from the people's agreement, so a ruler must earn and keep their consent.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the social contract was a real paper people signed. It is a thought experiment used to judge governments.
- Mixing up the three: Hobbes = strong ruler for safety; Locke = rights and limited government; Rousseau = general will.
- Thinking the general will is simply what the majority wants. Rousseau meant what is truly good for everyone.
- Saying Hobbes supported tyranny for fun. He wanted absolute power only because he feared civil war more.