Idea

The Social Contract

Government exists because people agree to it. Hobbes said they agree out of fear. Locke said they agree to protect their rights. Rousseau said they agree to become free.

Thinkers Who Shaped This Idea

Early Modern· 1561–1716 CE

Thomas Hobbes

1588 CE – 1679 CE

John Locke

1632 CE – 1704 CE

The Enlightenment· 1694–1797 CE

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1712 CE – 1778 CE

Edmund Burke

1729 CE – 1797 CE

Thomas Paine

1737 CE – 1809 CE

Related Ideas

Natural LawEmpiricismToleranceThe General WillEquality