This difference of opinion flows through to their views on social contract and this essay will discuss this difference in theory as Locke is of the belief that government is necessary in order to preserve natural law, and on the contrary, Hobbes sees government as necessary in order to control natural law. Both Hobbes and Locke theorise that as the laws of nature do not afford sufficient security everyone has to rely on their own mental and physical strength to defend themselves so they enter into a social contract whereby an agreement by individuals results in the formation of the state or of organized society. The prime motive for the social contract is the desire for protection, but it does entail the surrendering of some or all personal liberties. Whilst Hobbes and Locke differ on different aspects of natural law and social contract, both agree that mutual consent through social contract
In this paper I will critically evaluate the social contract theories of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau and attempt to explain why we will always obey the social contract and why it is important that we continue to do so. SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY Social contract theory is a branch of political philosophy which examines the foundations on which the legitimacy of political authority is built (Lessnoff 1990). The fundamental premise of social contract relied upon by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau is that political authority, political legitimacy and political obligations are derived from the consent of those who create a government (the people), and those who operate it through some form of quasi-consent (majoritarianism) (Riley 1982). It requires a mutual transferring of right in which people relinquish their freedom by allowing others to make choices that will benefit society in general. This notion can be found in the literature of the theorists.
Browne once said "sociological perspectives centre on how much freedom or control the individual had to influence society" He goes on to comment on the two main approaches "structuralism is concerned with the overall structure of society and the way social institutions act as a constraint, or limit and control individual behaviour". Structuralism offers a view of the individual being controlled by the society they live in, Marx and Durkheim are similar in that they can both be described as structuralists, however their individual ideas are somewhat different. Functionalism was developed by Emile Durkheim, he believed like Comte that sociology should be viewed as a precise science and that society should be studied objectively. Durkheim placed an enormous amount of emphasis on social facts which he saw as ways of acting, thinking or feeling that are external to individuals and have their own reality outside the lives and perceptions of individual people. This is known as the macro approach, which places a great emphasis on the structure of society and how an individual operates with that society.
Doing so by agreeing to create a state, this state was to be a system by contract, a contract that the states people would grant which powers they chose to the state, in exchange for the upheaval of their securities and rights. This theory is the Social Contract Theory, with relevance to the American political system. It is suspected that our founding fathers used this theory to derive the six purposes of the government, which are found in the Preamble. The first of which mentioned in the Preamble is to form a more perfect union. This was evidently needed due to the constant confrontation of the first states of the confederacy.
Explain how Bentham’s version of Utilitarianism may be used to decide on the right course of action. Utilitarianism is a teleological theory of ethics. It is a method that looks at the consequences of an action to deice whether it is right or wrong; this also makes it a consequentialist theory. In the eighteenth century Hutchenson first used the phrase ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’ which he used to describe the political systems. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) then decided to develop his idea of Utilitarianism from this quote and apply it to all areas of social activity.
He uses the theory of social contract of Jean-Jacques Rousseau as a model to examine power structure of the Nambikwara tribe. More specifically, Levi-Strauss refers to Rousseau when considering an origin of power in abovementioned society. In Nambikwara tribe, according to Levi-Strauss, “the group exchanges the individual elements of security guaranteed by the rule of monogamy and receives in return the collective security which it expects from Authority” (Paragraph 19). Such structure, as Levi-Strauss argues, depends on consent and constant exchange of “… oaths and privileges, services and responsibilities” (Paragraph 18). Hence, whereas Rousseau suggests that every person should renounce “… his own autonomy in the interests of the collective will” (Paragraph 17), in Nambikwara society only male adolescents, who are disadvantaged by the right of polygamy given to chief, renounce the opportunity to marry their peers.
Introduction Utilitarianism is the movement which came into realisation in the late 18th century, early 19 century as a result of English philosopher, social reformer and political radical Jeremy Betham’s Utilitarian theory of Ethics. Utilitarianism was then further developed by Stuart Mills (20 May 1806 – 8 May 1873). Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that places the locus of right and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies. Utiliotarianism is the belief that the sole standard of morality is determined by its usefulness. It moves beyond the scope of one's own interests and takes into account the interests of others.
In Political Liberalism, John Rawls canvasses three possibilities. For moral realists, political principles emanate from a transcendent moral order accessible to theoretical reason. For moral constructivists, political principles emerge from the activity of pure practical reason. For political constructivists, political principles originate from reassembling ideas in the public political
It is often described as an attempt to give social order. It concentrates on problems that are socially constructed by society. In society the main sphere that provides us with social policy is the government. The government establishes rules and regulations to follow, they prohibit action and provide services to solve problems and they adjust policy as and when they need to. “Social policy refers to a set of ideas about what should be done in a particular sphere which is normally set down in writing and usually formally adopted by the relevant decision making body, these are government policies in the need of the population”.
ASSIGNMENT 1 1. Ideology The concept of ideology have many various perspectives. One of the perspective is by Ambercrombie, Hill and Turner (1980) who view ideology as a form of social order that is sustained by the acquiescence of the majority. However, people are able to resist and reject the ideology of the majority. A more neutral view of ideology is that it is synonymous to our worldview.