Topic For Discussion : Rousseau's "Social Contract", Use This Thread For Comments And Discussion Options Rating

[Jon Awbrey]

Rousseau’s “Social Contract”

See this thread for selected passages from the text.

I haven't gotten around to excerpting enough of the text yet, but this will serve as an anchor for later discussion.

Jon (IMG:http://wikipediareview.com/stimg9x0b4fsr2/1/folder_post_icons/icon9.gif)

[Jon Awbrey]

Returning to this topic for the sake of a discussion on PolicyMic.

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Jon (IMG:http://wikipediareview.com/stimg9x0b4fsr2/1/folder_post_icons/icon9.gif)

[Jon Awbrey]

I see a lot of confusion about the concept of a social contract. It is important to understand that a social contract is not a verbal agreement, a written contract, a club bylaw, or anything of that sort.

A social contract is a specific condition of society, not a form of words. We may attempt to articulate that condition of society in words, but it remains a prerequisite, a prior condition of all other contracts. Verbal agreements and written contracts have no practical meaning in society unless there is a prior social contract that gives them its force.

— Jon Awbrey • 13 Oct 2011