A Conceptual Analysis of Social Contract: Studying Different Viewpoints - Essay Example

A Conceptual Analysis of Social Contract: Studying Different Viewpoints A Conceptual Analysis of Social Contract: Studying Different Viewpoints Introduction Social contract is based on the golden principle of societal exchange because governments are formed in order to help developmental process of the public (Definition of Social Contract). Public select governments in a democratic system by casting their votes so that their interests get represented in an effective fashion and according to social contract theory, governments have to play the role of a proficient communal worker and that is the essence of any governmental scheme in the global arena of politics (Arnolda & Sikkab, 2001). The world is strongly transforming into a globalized stage and therefore, nationalism is dying out with the passage of time. The social contract is becoming more than a conceptual framework of governmental management but it is growing into a globally acceptable economic theory. The era of self sufficiency is almost gone and nations are changing into organization-like entities which are always in the search of finding and validating their competitive advantage in the global community of nations. However, developing nations are trying to specialize in production whereas, the developed ones are focusing on research and development of newer technologies and they are also responsible for carrying forward the process of intellectual development in the most valuable fields of psychology and social sciences. The previous version of social contract theory argued that nations have to serve their local populations and in order to do that if they violate other country’s natural resources then it is perfectly acceptable because it naturalistic law that the weak is overwhelmed by the powered one as big fishes eat away small ones in order to sustain for the longer period of time. It is mentioned earlier that the time of nationalism is the talk of the past and the world are getting increasingly condensed after experiencing headless growth in terms of globalized trade. The cultures are submerging into each other and an internationalization of cultural norms is also growing into a prominent feature of the modern world. This paper will analyze the works of three thinkers on the topic of social contract who are namely Hobbes, Rousseau and Locke. (T.S) The international relations as a discipline became important than ever before because it covers the concepts which can be used in order to manage relations amongst different nations. The hand of international institutions in international politics is known to be valued over the past recent years (Boddewyn & Brewer, 1994). The development of nuclear weapons is taking place in every corner of the world and that particular trend has made the possibility of a Third World War remote because no nation will risk total annihilation to say the least and additionally, the power of internet has revealed the similarity of issues that are collectively faced by the entire humanity at large. The space technology is going to become a primal field in the world because future survival of human race may well depend on its development as humans should need to leave this dying planet whose ability and power to support life is getting compromised with each passing second literally. Thomas Hobbes argued that social contract will do more harm than good because it will divide the societies of the world in two groups. The first one will consist of elite class which will exploit the second one that will be made out of middle and lower social classes. The governmental power will remain in the hands of the rich and they do not fulfill the social contract because it will involve uplifting the standards of living of suppressed classes. However, John Locke attempted to paint a rosy picture of affairs and stated that social contract will help humanity regarding application of basic laws and there would be no unlawfulness in the society. Finally, Jean Rousseau supported that humans will strive for achievement of common good in a collective fashion under social contract and he pointed out the way towards global citizenship behavior for the first in the history of mankind. Governments and publics are supposed to work jointly in order to support development of their societies and public pays taxations and government uses these funds in order to serve the public which is indeed the basic and fundamental purpose of social contract theory essentially. In short, social contract is nothing less and nothing more than a social exchange of taxations and services which flow between the two respectively (Shaw, 2009). Governments are suspected to play a significant role in terms of preserving nation’s cultural outlook in the global society of nations (Rousseau, 1762). (Discussion of 3 viewpoints). Moreover, the phenomenon of global warming is eating away quality of life as well and it is causing global average temperatures to rise in all parts of the world. The whole discussion revealed the fact that no nation can afford to live in isolation in the modern era of the 21st century (Arnolda & Sikkab, 2001) and those which are attempting to do that or even planning to do that must see and evaluate the current national situation of England that was considered amongst the most prestigious countries of the world in the late past but it stood against the trend of globalization by refusing to join the euro network of nations and that specific decision became the greatest undoing of once great nation (Drake, Aos, & Mller, 2009). The social contract theory went international in nature with the advent of globalization in the world. Still, there is a war present between different parts of the globe but for starters, this war is more subtle in nature because it is fought with the help of economic and fiscal means. Europe and Americas are at war in order to win supremacy in the world and European nations have created EU so that they can become capable of pooling their resources in order to grow collaboratively (Roulac, et al., 2005). Furthermore, EU has been working hard in terms of strengthening position of Europe regarding sustaining cultural identity in the world where nations are dying out cultural deaths in masses. The nations of India and China have lost their normative outlook to American influences and the South Asian communities are uselessly copying American societal practices without understanding and comprehending their hearts and souls. In near future, regions will have to attach themselves to higher purpose of sustaining human race on this planet. The social contract in the present changed in meaning and became a global concept. The organizations such as World Trade Organization, United Nations and European Union are a few examples of organizations that have taken over the role of government in the present times and they are the ones which have to play the function of social contractors in the time of future and not only abovementioned bodies will have to serve the public (Strand, 2013) but traditional organizations are also embracing the newer concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and under that they have to do something in order to cause the betterment of the society in which they are operating. In the light of previous discussion, it can be argued that social contract does not only exist in between governments and publics but it is also significantly prevalent amongst commercial, international bodies and their internal and external stakeholders. On the other hand, it is imperative to note that leadership has transformed into an action oriented phenomenon and so does the concept of social contract. It is the matter of simplistic psychology that humans believe in visible rather than invisible and therefore, governments and other likewise organizations have to do something practical in order to embrace their social contract with the public (Contemporary Examples of International Institutions as social contractors) . A theory and written knowledge is nothing without practical implications and same is the case with social contract and Rousseau identified social contract as a set of mutual expectations that according to him was known to be present between nations and their governments. In modern form social contract gradually transformed into the theory of social exchange which tends to establish that human relations are based on the principle of reciprocity (Hemingway, 2005). Humans from the first dawn of their civilization helped each other in order to get helped in return. The social contract can only be implemented in developed nations where people are educated and therefore, they are well aware of their responsibilities and duties to the public and society (Hemingway, 2005) and in countries where people are not that educated, the presence of rift between the public and government is growing with each passing moment and the bloody revolution is expected to be nearing and human history has the historical proof in favor of that possibility in form and shape of “French Revolution” (Example of French Revolution is linked with social contract theory). Revolutions in general occurred in the historical perspective of mankind when governments did fail with respect to fulfillment of social contract with the public (Elenkov, Judge, & Wright, 2005). In addition, people retaliate against their governments when their basic needs and wants are not met and therefore, western nations ensure that public’s necessities of life should remained met so that they can be prevented from coming on to the streets. The human life changed dramatically with a profound level of information technology’s induction in daily life of the entire humanity. The cost of technology is dropping half while its processing speed is getting doubled in every few years. Conclusion This paper has been composed in order to highlight changes in the concept of social contract and it was discussed that the concept does not remain a localized one in the advance times of the 21st century. Human civilizations have gotten strongly connected with information technology and guess what, humans finally found out that they are facing similar problems in all parts of the world and therefore, the role of international institutions has become more prominent in the recent years and now people are significant expectant of them to execute the notion of social contract in the modern times. The time of nationalism that made nations bloodthirsty has gone and now the war is being fought on an economic basis rather than on military one and animosity is declining in nations because now they have common economic and fiscal goals and objectives. The government that can fulfill people’s expectations by causing their living standards to improve regardless of its political nature is the best one (what kind of government is best). References Arnolda, P., & Sikkab, P. (2001). Globalization and the state–profession relationship: the case the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. 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