Contract Theories: Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau
Theories of Contract
They were the thoughts that use contract as a hypothetical model explaining the origin and legitimacy of political power in the state. It is established from a state of nature, freely and independently, agree.
Members of the Assembly decide the functions and powers of the ruler.
It is presented as hypothetical; we must identify the state of nature or setting it to a historic moment. The function of these theories is to justify a particular type of political organization. Appeared in the 17th and 18th centuries, with Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. All are based on the ideal that inaugurates the modern anthropocentric and criticism of the legitimacy of power structures. Starting points:
- Affirmation of the autonomy of the individual.
- Criticizing the theocratic conception of power that prevailed in Europe in the Middle Ages.
- Dependent imposition of rational activity of man.
Thomas Hobbes: Homo Homini Lupus
Man is a wolf to man, who in a state of nature is selfish, and has equal access to another individual to win a showdown.
Human intelligence overrides the differences to be stronger. The human being lives in a perpetual war against each other.
The human being, endowed with reason, is to overcome this way of existence by establishing a contract by which the signatories agree to submit to a monarch. From this union between individuals and submission to superior force, civil society emerges, which is formed by the members of the State. Hobbes calls him a great Leviathan. Thanks to this partnership and the Leviathan, individuals are protected, and laws from the sovereign power to enforce and punish crimes. The monarch has no obligation to enforce laws. He has absolute power, so long as their actions support the right to a quiet life. If he does not fulfill its objective, they are free to leave civil society and seek protection and safety in other societies.
John Locke: The Liberal Control
The human being in a state of nature is free and master of his life. There is a law that forces humans to respect the life, health, and property of others. Individuals who violate law and liberty will make for a different treatment between them to ensure compliance with this legitimacy.
First, the conditions are agreed to govern the marriage: civil society. Everyone imposes an obligation to respect the freedom and property of others. Then down the features and bonds. Locke argues that state power is not absolute. He advocates a separation of powers between the legislative (law dictates, power and legitimacy come from individuals, and freely choose their legislators) and executive (monitors compliance with and enforcement of laws).
Locke anticipates Montesquieu in 1748, to separate the power in these two courts, but also that the judiciary is in the legislature, which makes the executive. The village has the right to revolution when abuses of power do not restore the order of the contract.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The General Will
Believes that the human being in a state of nature is peaceful and lives a simple life.
Owns property and lives in harmony. The union promotes private property companies, the worst enemy of human kindness. This makes the division between rich and poor. For this, emerging domain despotic relations.
To end this situation of injustice, Rousseau proposes to establish a social contract. The origin of this lies in a general will which loves and defends the interests of the community. Rousseau’s social contract does not imply any waiver. Laws enacted by the assembly that embodies the popular will get the range of natural laws appear to be fair, universal, and inalienable. For this, democracy embodies the system of the most educated to achieve the objectives of the contract.