The Relationship Between Individuals and Government Research Paper

The Relationship Between Individuals and Government - Research Paper Example The primary question when understanding social contracts is to determine how society governs itself. Locke attributes this to the notion of natural law and says that social norms turn artificial in the midst of a contract. He believes that individuals are guided mainly by natural reasoning and must adhere to certain limitations under the law. However, people are often misguided by their own selfish interests and may break this protocol. Thus, Locke reasons that people require a social contract that is governed by natural law. Social contract and harmony are enforced through a set of public institutions, which enforce law and order according to predefined doctrines besides taking corrective actions in case of aberrations on the part of people or institutions (Morris, 2009). On the other hand, Rousseau adopts a more philosophical approach by including political factors into the social phenomenon. Using concepts like the sovereign state and the rights of people, Rousseau explains that a social contract allows people to place their power and trust with the common will of the state and motivates them to contribute to the latter’s progress as an indivisible component. Thus, the precondition for a social contract is a collective entity that caters to the human, societal and political ambitions of the state (Winfield, 2008). The elements constituting this collective body are the individuals themselves, who exist and thrive under a set of laws proclaimed by the ‘collective’ state.