The Social Contract Theory Of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau Essay

The Social Contract Theory Of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau - Essay Example It however states that exercising additional rights will entail bearing additional responsibilities while exercising fewer responsibilities will entail fewer rights. Authority is the power invested government or body of government officials in order to enforce laws, command, determine, judge or even exact obedience. On the other hand, legitimacy is the popular acceptance of an authority by a system of governance. Political legitimacy is considered as the main reason for governing. When excising authority a decision made by an individual who has a high rank in the political arena or social sphere, it is expected that people will abide by it irrespective of whether the decision was understood by the society members. For example, a priest has a religious authority over the congregation. Social contract is an agreement done among members of a certain organized society or a government and the governed whereby the government defines and limits the rights and duties of each member of the government. For example in our country, there is a social contract between the governed and the government whereby the governed contribute some money to a government institution in exchange for treatment of a disease or accident. Hobbes believed that the state existed in order to serve the will of the people who can choose to give power to or with hold political power. In this scenario, parties to the contract are the government and the people. Locke contradicted the ideas of Hobbes by arguing that the state was formed as a result social contract because in the state of nature, each individual judged themselves and there was no protection against those living outside the law of nature thereby suggesting that the state be guided by natural law. Rousseau states that civil society has not done anything in order to enforce the equality and individual liberty that was promised to mankind thereby suggesting that the only