PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY

BAYAMBANG PANGASINAN
BAYAMBANG CAMPUS

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (II-3)

ETHICS (PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN MODERN SOCIETY)

GROUP2
MEMBERS:

MARK VINCENT J. FERRER

INSTRUCTOR:

MR. RAYMART CABILANGAN

THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

(EXPOSITION PAPER)
 I. INTRODUCTION

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born on Junes 28, 1712 in Geneva, Switzerland. He is

II. BODY

Rousseau begins The Social Contract with the most famous words he ever wrote:
“Men are born free, yet everywhere are in chains.” From this provocative opening,
Rousseau goes on to describe the myriad ways in which the “chains” of civil society
suppress the natural birthright of man to physical freedom. He states that the civil
society does nothing to enforce the equality and individual liberty that were promised to
man when he entered into that society. For Rousseau, the only legitimate political
authority is the authority consented to by all the people, who have agreed to such
government by entering into a social contract for the sake of their mutual preservation.
Rousseau describes the ideal form of this social contract and also explains its
philosophical underpinnings. To Rousseau, the collective grouping of all people who by
their consent enter into a civil society is called the sovereign, and this sovereign may be
thought of, metaphorically at least, as an individual person with a unified will. This
principle is important, for while actual individuals may naturally hold different opinions
and wants according to their individual circumstances, the sovereign as a whole
expresses the general will of all the people. Rousseau defines this general will as the
collective need of all to provide for the common good of all.
For Rousseau, the most important function of the general will is to inform the
creation of the laws of the state. These laws, though codified by an impartial, noncitizen
“lawgiver,” must in their essence express the general will. Accordingly, though all laws
must uphold the rights of equality among citizens and individual freedom, Rousseau
states that their particulars can be made according to local circumstances. Although
laws owe their existence to the general will of the sovereign, or the collective of all
people, some form of government is necessary to carry out the executive function of
enforcing laws and overseeing the day-to-day functioning of the state.
Rousseau writes that this government may take different forms, including monarchy,
aristocracy, and democracy, according to the size and characteristics of the state, and
that all these forms carry different virtues and drawbacks. He claims that monarchy is
always the strongest, is particularly suitable to hot climates, and may be necessary in all
states in times of crisis. He claims that aristocracy, or rule by the few, is most stable,
however, and in most states is the preferable form.
 Rousseau acknowledges that the sovereign and the government will often have a
frictional relationship, as the government is sometimes liable to go against the general
will of the people. Rousseau states that to maintain awareness of the general will, the
sovereign must convene in regular, periodic assemblies to determine the general will, at
which point it is imperative that individual citizens vote not according to their own
personal interests but according to their conception of the general will of all the people
at that moment. As such, in a healthy state, virtually all assembly votes should approach
unanimity, as the people will all recognize their common interests. Furthermore,
Rousseau explains, it is crucial that all the people exercise their sovereignty by
attending such assemblies, for whenever people stop doing so, or elect representatives
to do so in their place, their sovereignty is lost. Foreseeing that the conflict between the
sovereign and the government may at times be contentious, Rousseau also advocates
for the existence of a tribunate, or court, to mediate in all conflicts between the
sovereign and the government or in conflicts between individual people.

III. CONCLUSION
Rousseau recommends the establishment of a tribunate to mediate between
government and sovereign and government and people. In cases of emergency, brief
dictatorships may be necessary. The role of the censor's office is to voice public
opinion.
While everyone should be free to observe their personal beliefs in private, Rousseau
suggests that the state also require all citizens to observe a public religion that
encourages good citizenship.
The Social Contract is one of the single most important declarations of the natural
rights of man in the history of Western political philosophy. It introduced in new and
powerful ways the notion of the “consent of the governed” and the inalienable
sovereignty of the people, as opposed to the sovereignty of the state or its ruler(s). It
has been acknowledged repeatedly as a foundational text in the development of the
modern principles of human rights that underlie contemporary conceptions of
democracy.