social contract
the voluntary agreement among individuals by which, according to any of various theories, as of Hobbes, Locke, or Rousseau, organized society is brought into being and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare or to regulate the relations among its members.
an agreement for mutual benefit between an individual or group and the government or community as a whole.
Origin of social contract
1- Also called so·cial com·pact [soh-shuhl kom-pakt] /ˈsoʊ ʃəl ˈkɒm pækt/ .
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use social contract in a sentence
Recidivism is part of the social contract in this society of freedom and justice for all.
My point, of course, is that a democratic Jewish state is a social contract in the Hebrew language—no more, no less.
As he puts it: “The social contract established during the New Deal era was on the line.”
Why Obama Is No FDR: The Failure of a Progressive Movement | Harvey J. Kaye | June 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTBut part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along.
Instead, he began talking about John Rawls and John Locke, a social contract between the government and the governed.
I am to be introduced to the greatest sower of ideas of the century, the author of the social contract, Rousseau.
Balsamo, The Magician | Alexander DumasThe aristocracy encouraged dissertations on the social contract, the rights of man, and the equality of citizens.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology | Robert E. ParkWhen he wrote of the social contract, he did so rather to excuse breaches of the covenant than to emphasize its necessity.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind | Herbert George WellsI only ask you to admit that if such things fall below the comfort of barbarism, the social contract is annulled.
The Ball and The Cross | G.K. ChestertonHe had set fire to the building in accordance with the strict principles of the social contract.
The Ball and The Cross | G.K. Chesterton
British Dictionary definitions for social contract
(in the theories of Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and others) an agreement, entered into by individuals, that results in the formation of the state or of organized society, the prime motive being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some or all personal liberties
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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