GOVERNMENT

The social contract theory is thus an argument that government is necessary because it is in the interests of all of its citizens.  While people are essentially free, living together with some laws produces a more happy life than living in anarchy.  As shown in this image taken from Hobbes' Leviathan--of a sovereign composed of a sum of people--such a government derives its authority and power from the consent of the governed.

In his On Crimes and Punishments, Beccaria considers the implications of social contract theory for issues of law and punishment.  The social contract gives us a way of distinguishing a good law from a bad law, tells us what sorts of behavior ought to be considered criminal, and establishes limits to the degree that government can use its power to hurt and punish its citizens.

• A Good Law is one which any rational individual, if they considered it, would realize is in their self-interest; a bad law is one which people consider an unnecessary restriction of their freedom, or which is only in the interests of some.  The social contract thus establishes legal equality, and, argues Beccaria, encourages the minimal restriction of individuals' freedom by the state.  That is, laws establish as much order as is necessary to live a happy life, but leave as much freedom to its citizens as possible.

• Crimes are now considered not only to be the breaking of laws, but the breaking of those promises that the individual made to society.  According to the terms of the social contact, the offender has agreed that the state is authorized to punish her to the extent necessary to produce general deterrence.

• Punishments must therefore be proportional: as severe as necessary to stop the crime from occurring, but leaving as much freedom to the offender as possible.  Anything more, argues Beccaria, is vengeance by the state--a use of its power that no rational individual would have authorized according to the social contract.

Now Examine
The Social Contract in Action!!