social contract

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social contract

n.
A usually implicit agreement among the members of an organized society or between the governed and the government defining and limiting the rights and duties of each.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

social contract

or

social compact

n
(Philosophy) (in the theories of Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, and others) an agreement, entered into by individuals, that results in the formation of the state or of organized society, the prime motive being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some or all personal liberties
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

so′cial con′tract


n.
the agreement among individuals by which society becomes organized and invested with the right to secure mutual protection and welfare.
[1840–50]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.social contract - an implicit agreement among people that results in the organization of society; individual surrenders liberty in return for protection
accord, agreement - harmony of people's opinions or actions or characters; "the two parties were in agreement"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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References in classic literature ?
No, he was made for his country, by the obligations of the social compact; he was made for his species, by the Christian duties of universal charity; he was made for all ages past, by the sentiment of reverence for his forefathers; and he was made for all future times, by the impulse of affection for his progeny.
That is, perhaps, the only instance in human history of that positive, original social compact, which speculative philosophers have imagined as the only legitimate source of government.
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"I admonish and forewarn ye all," continued the startled Doctor, "that I am a peaceful citizen of the before named Confederacy, or to speak with greater accuracy, Union, a supporter of the Social Compact, and a lover of good order and amity;" then, perceiving that the danger was, at least, temporarily removed, he once more raised his voice to the hostile pitch,--"I charge ye all, therefore, to submit to the laws."
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for our social compacts." The plural of "social bargains" and "social compacts" suggests that he is not thinking of a conceptually unanimous social contract in the sense of James Buchanan or even John Rawls.
Dumping, trade as 'social
He predicts that, to cope responsibly, communities will have to negotiate "new social compacts" upon which city finances can be re-constructed.
A unique time in municipal finance: not for hunkering down
(2) Social compacts and self-management agreements as a basic institutional instruments in so-called "Negotiated economy", which since the mid-seventies were a basic form of coordination of activities and alignment of interests and the regulation of relations on the basis of self-management, referred to, of course, and the agricultural sector in all its aspects.
The role of investment in the efficiency of agriculture--case of Serbia
The Many Meanings of Poverty: Colonialism, Social Compacts, and Assistance in Eighteenth-Century Ecuador.
The Many Meanings of Poverty: Colonialism, Social Compacts, and Assistance in Eighteenth-Century Ecuador
The many meanings of poverty; colonialism, social compacts, and assistance in eighteenth-century Ecuador.
The many meanings of poverty; colonialism, social compacts, and assistance in eighteenth-century Ecuador

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