Explain the concepts of state of nature and social contract
What will be an ideal response?
State of nature is a term coined by Thomas Hobbes to describe an imaginary time before human beings organized into governments or states for the collective good. Hobbes famously described life in the anarchic state of nature as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." He assumed that individuals in the state of nature would be most interested in self-preservation, and he reasoned that those who were strong enough to assure self-preservation would then be interested in acquiring power over others. Given this, the weak would have an intense interest in protecting themselves from the strong.
A social contract is a theoretical political agreement in which everyone agrees to limit their ability to do as they please in order to achieve some collective benefit. Enforcing the social contract means consenting to an authority that will keep everyone in line: the Leviathan. For Hobbes the Leviathan should have freedom to use coercion, as long as it keeps the peace between people and recognizes everyone's right to self-preservation.
You might also like to view...
Neoliberals argue that, more than protection against violent, external threats, ________ assures the protection of a nation's economy and environment
a. interdependence among countries b. deterrence c. negotiations d. disarmament e. defense
The series of protests that took place across North Africa and the Middle East beginning in early 2011 that led to democratic reforms in some nations and civil war and chaos in others has been called ______.
a. Operation Iraqi Freedom b. the Bush Doctrine c. the Great Remembrance d. Arab Spring
How powerful are parties in the House in accomplishing their legislative goals?
What will be an ideal response?
Literacy tests were used to
A. finance election campaigns. B. ensure that the people who voted would take the vote seriously. C. ensure that women voted with their husbands, who legally controlled the money in a marriage. D. help subsidize public education in the North. E. disenfranchise African Americans in the South.