People Who Need People - Essay Example

Task: Social contract theory A social contract theory addresses one of the most pertinent issues in human relationships. Thisis because it defines how an individual should relate with a defined societal authority. It is crucial to underscore the fact that politics is an inevitable part of any civilized society. This is because politics is a means of forming an authority that eventually participates in organizing people’s interests. In addition, politics is a continuous process that aids in the perfection of a society.

In this view, politics seals the loopholes that make up an inefficient state. A comprehensive social contract theory would depend upon the ideas of Stuart Mill, Thomas Locke, and John Rawis.John Stuart Mill’s ideas would be helpful in developing a perfect relationship between the individual and the state. The state, as an entity of authority, should work towards satisfying the individual’s interests. The state, therefore, should ensure that the individual attains the maximum satisfaction possible while also minimizing pain an individual faces.

For instance, in terms of food, the state should ensure that a citizen becomes satiated. Similarly, the state should minimize hunger in the individual. The state, however, only performs these duties as long as the satisfaction of an individual does not compromise on the welfare of other individuals. Besides, the state should define a society form the individual’s disposition rather from the communal view (Jeske and Fumerton 163). The state should create an environment that enables the individual conform to oneself rather than conform to the society.

Thomas Hobbes’ ideas are crucial in determining the finite capacity of the state in governing individuals’ affairs. Hobbes defines human beings, in their natural state, as unruly and asocial beings whose interests are rarely unified. This imposes the necessity of the state in harmonizing the interests of individuals. The state, therefore, is a natural consequence of individuals’ disorganized nature. Eventually, states behave as human beings as they develop asocial nature. In this perspective, the state should be subject to regulations that ensure it operates within responsible confines.

Individuals should not hold the state as an entity that cannot err. This is because the state reflects the magnitude of disorganization present in a society. It is essential for individuals to create structures that ensure unrelenting transformation of the state towards perfection. John Rawls’ theory is essential in rationalizing the John Stuart Mill’s concept of liberty. This third view of social contract theory is essential in forming a unifying legal framework that defines human behavior.

In spite of the diversified interests of human beings, they possess a common morality and needs that provides the foundation for forming a constitution. Individuals, in their state of ultimate rationality, are able to perceive the common things that define other people. The constitution, hence, should help protect the common interests that people in a society share. A proper social contract theory should ensure that the state protects the interests of individuals. In this position, the state creates a thriving environment for the individual to conform towards oneself.

The state, however, behaves as an individual. In this view, the state deserves guidance in its operations. Individuals, in their ultimate rationality, can identify common things that define their life and form a constitution that protect such inalienable rights.Works citedJeske, Diane, and Richard A. Fumerton. Readings in political philosophy: theory and applications. Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2010. Print.