by Kevin J. Browne

Created on: May 28, 2008

Social contract theory raises the possibility that the need for social order and certain inherent constraints might provide us with a natural basis for morality. While it might seem that there are strong incentives for social anarchy without an outside objective (and perhaps supernatural) source of morality, according to some philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, the incentive is built into the social system by the very nature of our existing among each other. The need naturally exists for us to form some sort of agreement to treat each other with basic respect and follow certain basic rules. That is, we find it most advantageous to form a social contract to base our lives in general and our moral judgments.

What would life without such a contract be like? According to Hobbes it wouldn't be pretty! Unbounded liberty can be very dangerous and life without any rules at all would, according to Hobbes, be "solitary, nasty, brutish, and short." But why should this be? Can't we just live and let live? In a word the answer is no due to four important factors which together conspire to put us at odds with one another unless we form some sort of social contract to mitigate these factors.

1. Equality of need: We all have certain basic needs in common such as food, clothing, and shelter.

2. Scarcity: Factor one wouldn't really be a problem at all except for factor two which is scarcity. There is not an unlimited supply of food, clothing, and shelter just to name the essentials. Economists know this all too well and often define economics as the study of the scarce allocation of resources which have alternative uses.

3. Equality of human power: Here is the factor that really creates a serious problem when combined with factors one and two. For a time, a few can perhaps take control and take what they want at the expense of everyone else. But, in the long run, this power cannot be sustained because one person's weakness is another person's strength. One person may have force on their side, but perhaps others have another advantage. In the end these differences tend to even out which creates a situation where everyone is, in Hobbes' phrasing, at war against everyone else for the same scarce resources.

4. Limited altruism: One solution to the problem is to rely on the kindness of strangers (to paraphrase the famous play). But, this won't work either since we all have limits to how altruistic we are. Let's face it we are not infinitely compassionate towards our fellow human beings.

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