Social Contract

A social contract is an implied agreement between people and their government, whereby the people give up some rights to government in exchange for protection. The concept of the social contract was proposed during the Enlightenment, and became influential in political conflicts such as the French Revolution.

This concept was used by the Founding Fathers of the United States to declare that the king had broken the "contract" and therefore independence was justified.

See also[edit]

• Thomas Hobbes
• John Locke
• Jean Jacques Rousseau