social contract

[soh-shuhl kon-trakt]

noun

1. 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.

2. an agreement for mutual benefit between an individual or group and the government or community as a whole.

social contract

noun

1. (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

Word History and Origins

Origin of social contract¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

This recent death may be a signal that social contract is beginning to break.

From Los Angeles Times

They are now desperately seeking to borrow or ventriloquize just enough of the far-right agenda to win elections without going all the way to blood-and-soil racism or entirely shredding the social contract.

From Salon

It’s all overgrazing, it’s all a tragedy of the commons, and we can’t agree on exactly who to blame for signing this social contract — or how to renegotiate it before the pasture becomes permanently barren.

From Salon

"It's almost like a social contract," he adds, "that people are getting back what they're putting in, that there is a fairer environment for them that supports them and respects them."

From BBC

America’s social contract has to cover everyone, not just the wealthy.

From Los Angeles Times