This is a philosophy characterized as an interpretation in which people's moral development and political obligations are based on a mutual agreement or pact to establish a just society in which they live (Ogbuju & Eneh 2016).
Social contract theory is one that naturally talks about the issue of the source of culture and the legitimacy of the state's control over the person, both in ethical and dogmatic philosophy. As a result, it motivates people to behave in a more orderly manner.
Debates on the social contract
Debates on the social contract has it that individuals have surrendered either openly or in secret to give up some of their freedoms to submit to the top most official in command of the law for the safety of their other remaining privileges in return (Taylor, Walton, & Young 2013). This leads to the need for the concern over ordinary and lawful rights as a result of the social contract. According to Ogbuju & Eneh (2016), morality arises from market failure. However, the perfect market itself operates as a morality-free zone because the only behavior it makes possible excludes those features of natural interaction that prevent individuals from maximizing their utility.
The existence of natural law
Social contract theory, therefore, explains the existence of natural law that binds an individual from breaking the legal rules. When it comes to morality, social contract according to Ogbuju & Eneh (2016) societal agreement model is precisely linked with contemporary ethical and radical theory. A liberal democratic constitution means liberal-minded citizens. There is, therefore, a rise of issues of the celestial command model, a philosophy that suggests that "a deed’s position as ethically upright is equal to whether a supernatural being directs it." This concept, however, raises the concerns of many as the rules to be followed are not subject to alteration (Taylor, Walton, & Young 2013). However, Social contract theory covers the problems by giving individuals in a society a chance to agree to rules to be followed and even the consequences of breaking them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear that social contract theory is a legal argument that instills guilt in individuals by the existence of punishment for unlawful acts against laws to which he or she agreed and is therefore proper for maintaining the morality and uprightness of citizens in a harmonious living.
References
Ogbuju, S., & Eneh, O. C. (2016). Locating the reality of the social contract theory and the failed state concept in Nigeria's governance. Sustainable Human Development Review, 06(1-4).
Taylor, I., Walton, P., & Young, J. (2013). The new criminology: For a social theory of deviance. Routledge.
