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what is the social contract theory of government?

what is the social contract theory of government?

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1. An attempt to explain the ways in which people form states to maintain social order.
2. Social Contract theory originated during the Enlightenment with philosophers such as Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. Essentially, they believed that men willingly give up certain aspects (or all aspects, in the case of Hobbesian theory) of their liberty in order to gain the protection of a government. For example, Hobbes thought that men in their natural state lived in a constant time of warfare and fear. Because they wanted peace and safety, they gave up their freedom to an authority. The contract was simple, in this case: the authority/government gets complete power, and the men get complete protection. For less radical theorists, the contract means that men give up only some of their freedoms in order to gain the peace and order that comes from a government enforcing protective laws. Rousseau said that "man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains." Those chains represent the social contract, but they are chains that men are supposed to accept freely. In a sense, they make man MORE free, even though men have to give up some of their natural liberties. This is because the government allows them to retain their property without fear of being attacked or robbed by other men. Ideally, all men would accept the social contract, and all men would work for the greater good (which Rousseau calls the "General Will" instead of for selfish aims, since the greater good ultimately benefits all individuals. Although there are many variations on the social contract theory, they are all based on the concept of a mutual and willing contract between citizen and government.
3. An agreement with the government to follow the laws of the land, and in return the government will protect property rights.