Social Contract Theory and Its Implications

Social Contract Theory

Hobbes's Argument

• John Locke: "Wherever law ends, tyranny begins."
• Thomas Hobbes sought to establish morality on a basis other than God, natural purposes, or altruism.
• Morality as a solution to the practical problem of achieving a peaceful, cooperative social order for self-interested individuals.
• Social rules are necessary for flourishing; morality comprises the rules needed to reap the benefits of social living.
• Absence of enforceable social rules leads to a