Political Philosophy & The Social Contract Cheat Sheet

Key Facts

• Political legitimacy means a government has the right to rule because its authority is justified, not merely because it has power.
• The social contract principle can be stated as people give up some freedom in exchange for order, protection, and shared rules.
• Hobbes argued that life in the state of nature is insecure, so people should accept a strong sovereign to prevent chaos.
• Locke argued that people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and government exists to protect those rights.
• Rousseau argued that legitimate law should express the general will, meaning the common good of the citizens as a whole.
• Consent of the governed means political authority is justified only if the people have agreed to it, either directly or indirectly.
• A useful comparison rule is obligation to obey = legitimate authority + fair laws + protection of basic rights.
• Civil disobedience is the deliberate, public breaking of a law to protest injustice while usually accepting legal consequences.

Vocabulary

Political philosophy

The branch of philosophy that studies government, justice, rights, law, freedom, and political authority.

Social contract

An agreement, real or imagined, in which people accept rules and government in exchange for protection and social order.

State of nature

A hypothetical condition before organized government, used by philosophers to explain why political authority might be needed.

Natural rights

Basic rights people are thought to have simply because they are human, such as life, liberty, and property.

Consent

Agreement that gives political authority legitimacy, either through explicit approval or participation in a political system.

General will

Rousseau's idea of the collective will aimed at the common good rather than private interests.