The Social Contract

            Society is created when a group of people form a social contract in which they give up certain rights to a government or authority in exchange for protection and social regulations. Montesquieu, an Enlightenment Philosopher, believed that what sets men apart from other animals is a natural tendency to create society: “Mankind have therefore a new motive of uniting; and a fourth law of nature results from the desire of living in society.”

We all give up individual rights to protect and enhance the common good. We renounce the right to kill, to steal, to cheat, or to do anything that would be considered “unlawful” for the sake of society. The reason why we do not let ourselves pursue personal interests, rather than the common interest, is because with society comes protection. If there were no laws, then what would keep people in order? According to Thomas Hobbes, in a natural state, men are always fighting with each other to achieve their own personal gain, but men enter into a social contract for security: 

“For as long as every man holdeth this right, of doing anything he liketh; so long are all men in the condition of war…To lay down a man’s right to anything is to divest himself of the liberty of hindering another of the benefit of his own right to the same. For he that renounceth or passeth away his right giveth not to any other man a right which he had not before, because there is nothing to which every man had not right by nature, but only standeth out of his way that he may enjoy his own original right without hindrance from him, not without hindrance of another.”

            Thus, individuals relinquish certain rights to society because they seek protection and order. But in this exchange, society and the government which enforces the rules of society must effectively protect the people. Otherwise, the government becomes corrupt and abuses the rights of the citizens.

            Society is beholden to its people because people came before society. In a democracy, the government is chosen by the people to protect their natural rights, which, according to John Locke, are “life,” “liberty,” and “property.” The duty of the government is to protect the common will of the people and the rights and liberties of the people. Otherwise, society and government should have limited power. If the government abuses its power and does not effectively protect the people, the members of society have the right to overthrow the government. The duty society has to its people is evident in the United States. The federal government is divided into three legislative branches so that not one branch gains too much power; this is a precaution taken to protect the rights of the people within the country. As citizens, we have the right to vote, we can hold a referendum, and we directly elect representatives, senators, and state officials. The list goes on. The main principle of society is to protect the common will of the people and thus society must preserve the equality and rights of the people and never have absolute power.

            When society does not reflect the general will and does not protect the rights of the people, the people are not obligated to follow the rules established by society. At times, long standing laws are overturned because they breach the liberties of the people. In other instances, newly proposed regulations are turned down because of possible infringement of rights. In these two circumstances, the general will of the people overrules societal regulations, but typically only when a republic is established as a government. Once again, the social contract that exists between the United States citizens and their government serves as a good example. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was finally established after many years of discrimination and abuse of minorities in America. The rights of minorities in the United States were blatantly abused, thus the people had the right to disregard societal rules, fight for justice, and change governmental regulations. Proposed laws and actions of the federal government are closely examined by the judicial branch to determine if they are constitutional. The first ten amendments to the Constitution are considered the Bill of Rights because they prescribe the natural rights of U.S. citizens. A law would not be passed unless it is in accordance with the Constitution and does not breach the rights given to the individual.

The situation becomes more complicated in societies in which a republic is not established, but rather where more authoritarian governments are in place. In despotic governments, almost all of the people’s rights are taken away and it is difficult for them to refuse to abide by unjust laws, nonetheless over throw them. In North Korea, the people are suffering at the hands of a tyranny, but cannot revolt against the government for fear of death—the government clearly has too much power. It is right for the people to not follow the rules transposed by society, but it is hard to do so because they are ruled by terror. Societal regulations represent the bloated power of the dictator rather than the common will of the people. Then, it becomes the question of other societies throughout the world whether they should step in to help the suffering people.

NOSCE TE IPSVM

Knowing oneself is to be aware of why one thinks, acts, and believes in a certain way. This knowledge incorporates the reasons behind the actions of a being and the core mental processes that make up our decisions. To have this self-knowledge would be very valuable. Someone may act a certain way but not know his or her real intentions and be unable to determine why he or she behaved that way. However, with such knowledge, there are explanations to the actions, which in turn can lead to improvement or alteration in character. Self-knowledge is valuable because it allows oneself to be aware of the meaning behind behavior and beliefs and whether or not this meaning goes along with one’s own values and morals. Self-knowledge makes a stronger, more confident person who allows him or herself to improve. Knowledge of how we ourselves work can also help us understand the reasons behind others’ actions. This understanding can lead to better communication between people and, eventually, the knowledge of how and why humans as a whole think and act.

I have many weakness—some of which I am not even aware of—but my worst quality is that if something I need to do does not have a deadline, I typically will not do it, or it will take me too long to get it done. This can either have to do with laziness or aversion to the task at hand. I speak for myself, and probably a lot of other classmates, when I say that if assignments at school did not have due dates, they would hardly ever get done. I enjoy doing things that I think are fun and interesting rather than ones I consider unfavorable. However, a lot of the time, the unfavorable deeds benefit me the most because they make me work, challenge myself, and cultivate a sense of responsibility and productivity. I try to stop this weakness in various ways. Sometimes, I will just complete the task so that I will not have to worry about it later. However, I usually only do this when the task is simple and does not require much work. For example, when I was younger, my mom would have to constantly remind me to write thank you cards after one of my parties. Sometimes, I would send the cards out later than would be expected and other times, I pushed off writing the cards until I decided it would be useless and unacceptable to send them so late—thus I would not do them at all. Now, for something as simple as writing thank you cards, I get it done rather quickly. For other tasks that are harder, require more work, or which I find disagreeable, more effort is needed for completion. In cases like these, I have to make a due date for myself, which still does not always work. Oftentimes, I only do something once my parents have nagged me about it so much that I realize I cannot put it off anymore.

My strength is that I remember almost anything. Not anything as in random facts and trivia or material on a test, but I remember many circumstances that have taken place between me and another person. To some people, this strength is rather a weakness since it means remembering all of the bad things someone has said or done. However, I have a strong sense of forgiveness coupled with this memory. Even though I remember hurtful or embarrassing memories, I accept them as part of the past and move on. I think it takes less energy and is healthier to focus on the good aspects of a person—whether they are from the past or present—instead of the negative. This does not just pertain to how I view other people, but to myself as well. I forgive myself for behaving badly and vow to not do it again in the future, rather than lingering on what I have done and disliking myself. Of course, if a bad memory is so strong and representative of a person’s overall character, I am also able to recognize that I should distance myself from that person, or, if the memory is of my own behavior, change my own character.

Sometimes, we cannot recognize our strengths even if others can; what may be a strength really seems like an ordinary part of who we are. Similarly, some of us recognize our weaknesses and others do not. Either way, it is hard to face negative aspects of our personality. But, without knowing our weaknesses, how can anyone improve? I think part of confidence is the ability to acknowledge both the strengths and weaknesses in ourselves. A person with true confidence knows he or she has a weakness, but tries harder to change it instead of viewing it as a negative aspect. It is very hard for me to determine what my strengths and weaknesses are. I am unsure of whether what I consider a strength is perhaps not a strength to other people. Then, I do not want to seem arrogant, thinking that I am so strong when maybe I am just ordinary. For my weaknesses, I can find small things that seem weak to me, but maybe I am not even aware of my own biggest weakness. Perhaps one of my weaknesses is worrying about how others view my strengths and weaknesses when I should only care about my own opinion and improve what I think should be changed. The uncertainty of thinking about what I am and am not good at is uncomfortable. In the college essays that I am working on, it is so hard to write about myself and describe “why I would make this or that college more diverse.” It is easy to be me, but it is hard to think about who I am and why I am this way.