Freedom and Authority

Freedom and Authority

The ethical foundation for the relations of people to their government can be explained through the social contract theory. Social contract theory claims that individuals live together in a society based on an agreement that establishes political and moral rules of behavior (Friend, 2017). Individuals tend to surrender some of their liberty to the government for purposes of safety. Laws and ethics govern individuals’ actions and work together to make sure that citizens behave in a particular manner and coordinate efforts to safeguard the welfare, safety, and health of the public. Even though law usually embodies ethical principles, ethics and law are co-extensive. Based on society’s ethics, laws are usually generated and implemented by governments to mediate the relationships among humans and protect citizens (Lumen Learning, 2019). Laws are linked to punishments for violations, but ethics is not. Generally, laws enforce the behaviors that individuals are expected to follow, whereas ethics suggest what needs to be followed and enable people to enhance their decision-making.

According to Thomas Hobbes, human beings are free agents since their activities should not be under anyone’s constraint. However, since acting independently and based on individuals’ self-interest might produce a state of war, the best way is to enter into contracts with one another. Since individuals cannot rely on their own powers to secure contentment and livelihood, forming a commonwealth to enhance social order and public welfare is important (Kemerling, 2011). Whereas his theory might give insight to peaceful living in society, Kaditz (2017) claims that Hobbes’ social contract is non-inclusive. Hobbes suggests that failure to join the contract or live up to the demands leaves one out of the moral community. Additionally, failure to differentiate between morality and law is a risk to the security of society. Laws like slave ownership are simply immoral.

John Locke posits that the only right that people give up so as to enter into civil society and its benefits is the right to punish other individuals for violating these rights. The right to be a vigilante is the only right that can be given up. Locke argues against any government restrictions, and in regard to religious beliefs, he claims that there is no justification for the imposition of individuals’ beliefs on others (Kemerling, 2011). Locke implies that if one violates the terms of a social contract, then they should not reap benefits like protection. Whereas this theory offers a clear way to analyze the issues pertaining to the government and people, it fails to recognize that social contract is implied, and there might be situations and actions that are subject to various interpretations.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau argues that in a social contract, the government attains the right to exist as well as to govern based on the consent of the people being governed. Rousseau focuses on the equality and freedom of citizens, and a balance between individual rights and the supreme authority is founded on a social contract that safeguards citizens from divisions and gross differences in wealth and privilege among members (Bertram, 2017). This theory assumes that only the will of the people can generate a government or a sovereign body, and this seems to promote the idea of people’s power and democracy. However, one issue with Rousseau’s theory is that social contract claims to be a legitimate state in a certain sense because it frees people from their chains; but if the government is to safeguard individual freedom, this cannot be reconciled with the idea of the general will.

Applying Hobbes’ concept on the issue of privacy and surveillance by the American government in order to protect the citizens, Hobbes’s theory would advocate for a mutual understanding. This might mean having to come to an agreement on ways that privacy can be maintained while keeping citizens safe. Locke’s theory would object to the surveillance of Americans since citizens’ rights must be upheld. Rousseau’s theory would also advocate for freedom from surveillance since this infringes on the right to privacy that is held dearly by most Americans. In general, a general consensus reveals that privacy is highly regarded, and other means of protecting citizens need to be sought.

References

Bertram, C. (2017). Jean Jacques Rousseau. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau/

Cadiz, M.R. (2017, January 1). Hobbes’s Error and Problems with Social Contract Theory.֘ Retrieved from https://michaelrobertcaditz.medium.com/hobbess-error-and-problems-with-social-contract-theory-%D6%98-bec8bf7ae13c

Friend, C. (2017). Social Contract Theory. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from https://iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/

Kemerling, G. (2011). Hobbes’s Leviathan. The Philosophy Pages. Retrieved from http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/3x.htm#mech

Kemerling, G. (2011). Locke: Social order. Philosophy Pages. Retrieved from http://www.philosophypages.com/hy/4n.htm

Lumen Learning. (2019). Ethics and Law. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-epcc-introethics-1/chapter/ethics-and-law/

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