
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ancient Greece and Rome Ancient Greece and Rome
-
The Middle Ages The Middle Ages
-
Protestant and Catholic Resistance Theorists Protestant and Catholic Resistance Theorists
-
Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, and Locke Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, and Locke
-
Transformation, Decline, and Revival: Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Rawls, and Nozick Transformation, Decline, and Revival: Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Rawls, and Nozick
-
References References
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
33 The Social Contract (Contract of Government)
Get accessJohann Sommerville is Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His publications include Royalists and Patriots: Politics and Ideology in England 1603–1640 (1999), and editions of the political writings of King James VI and I and Sir Robert Filmer in the series Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought.
-
Published:02 September 2011
Cite
Abstract
Social-contract theories flourished in Europe in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, had roots extending far further back, and continue to be influential today. John Rawls revived one type of contract theory in the mid-twentieth century, while another featured in the work of Robert Nozick. One kind of theory centers on a real or hypothetical contract between individuals to establish a political society—a contract of society. Another focuses on a contract between the society or people, on the one hand, and the ruler or government, on the other—a contract of government. In the heyday of theorizing about the social contract, it was the contract of government that received most attention. When people joined together to form political societies, they proceeded, authority must at first have been in the hands of the whole community, since no one had any greater right to exercise it than anyone else. Some contractualists have used the social contract to cast light on what must always and everywhere be true about states. They include Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and Rawls.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 16 |
November 2022 | 10 |
December 2022 | 12 |
January 2023 | 11 |
February 2023 | 6 |
March 2023 | 13 |
April 2023 | 11 |
May 2023 | 10 |
June 2023 | 8 |
July 2023 | 5 |
August 2023 | 10 |
September 2023 | 49 |
October 2023 | 16 |
November 2023 | 6 |
December 2023 | 9 |
January 2024 | 4 |
February 2024 | 3 |
March 2024 | 8 |
April 2024 | 16 |
May 2024 | 10 |
June 2024 | 6 |
July 2024 | 12 |
August 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 56 |
October 2024 | 7 |
November 2024 | 4 |
December 2024 | 10 |
January 2025 | 8 |
February 2025 | 4 |
March 2025 | 13 |
April 2025 | 10 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.