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- People are Hedonistic:
The basis for an individual's action is hedonism or, taken more generally, their self-interest.
Individuals will usually act in order to benefit themselves, and will attempt to
minimize pains or costs.
- People are Rational, and therefore Free:
But people are also rational, and can thus calculate what is
really in their self-interest before they act. This capacity gives them a
degree of freedom from their desires and environment, and, social contract theorists
argue, this allows them to create social and legal environments to avoid the
conflicts that self-interest would bring about.
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