Social Contract Research Articles

Rousseau’s lawgiver as teacher of peoples: Investigating the educational preconditions of the social contract

This paper argues that Rousseau’s lawgiver is best thought of as a fictional teacher of peoples. It is fictional as it reflects an idea that is entertained despite its contradictory nature, and it is contradictory in the sense that it describes ‘an undertaking beyond human strength and, to execute it, an authority that amounts to nothing’ (II.7; 192). Rousseau conceives of the social contract as a necessary device for enabling the transferal of individual power to the body politic, for subsuming individual wills under the general will, and for aligning the good of the individual with the common good. For the social contract to be valid, however, it needs to be preceded by a desire to belong to a moral community that can induce people to join willingly, and that will grant legitimacy to the laws established. If the social contract is the machinery that makes the body politic function, the lawgiver is ‘the mechanic who invents the machine’ (II.7; 191). In this paper we will look closer at the pedagogical functions of Rousseau’s mythical lawgiver by first examining the relationship between the social contract, the general will and the lawgiver. Then, we aim to flesh out a pedagogical understanding of the figure of the lawgiver by way of the two educational dimensions of accommodation and transformation. Finally, we will argue for the importance of understanding Rousseau’s lawgiver as a fictional device allowing for the fundamental and enduring educational task of balancing between the preservation and renewal of society.

Can The General Will Be Expressed in U.S. Elections?

This research delves into the nuanced relationship between election outcomes and the concept of the “General Will,” as elucidated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract. Through a multifaceted analysis, this paper scrutinizes the representation of election results by considering factors like voter turnout and restrictions, factional power dynamics, and the influence of monied interests. The findings reveal that elections, particularly within the electoral landscape of the United States, fail to truly express the will of the people due to gerrymandering, voter restrictions, and the influence of dark money and special interest groups. Drawing on insights from scholarly discourse, the study concludes by proposing potential solutions aimed at fostering greater alignment between election results and the overarching will of the people.

A Better Account of Constitutional Contractarianism Implies a Cooperative Form of Governance of the Sharing Economy: Critical Assessment of Hielscher, Everding, and Pies’ (2022) “Ordo-responsibility in the Sharing Economy: A Social Contracts Perspective”

A Better Account of Constitutional Contractarianism Implies a Cooperative Form of Governance of the Sharing Economy: Critical Assessment of Hielscher, Everding, and Pies’ (2022) “Ordo-responsibility in the Sharing Economy: A Social Contracts Perspective”

Reconciling Past Compromises: Towards a More Equitable Future for Orang Asli in Malaysia

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the present generation has more ability to shape the future than every previous generation in modern times. Intergenerational justice in general means meeting the current needs without jeopardising future generations; all generations are eligible to a healthy, balanced environment favourable to human progress and the State has fiduciary obligation to use and manage resources efficiently and further promotes balance and sound environmental policy. The synergy between its citizen and State create relationship known as “social contract”, but the word “social contract” has a very diverse and unique connotation in Malaysia. The “social contract” referred to the difficulties and intricate compromises reached between major ethnics in Malaysia regarding their mutual rights and privileges, since independence of Malaysia. The Aboriginal in Malaysia is also known as Orang Asli, their communities frequently associated with negative connotation and sometimes less fortunate when compared to other main ethnics in Malaysia. Over the time government regimes change guard but developments of reasonable policies and other actions that promotes intergenerational justice and sustainable development goal towards Orang Asli seem slow in progress. This paper aims to highlight the issues of plight among Orang Asli in Malaysia as they are the minorities within minority communities. In contrast to empirical research, doctrinal approach which is library-based focusing on reading and analysis of the primary and secondary materials will be applied throughout this study. It is the contention of this paper to promote better wellbeing of Orang Asli communities as part of Malaysia nation building.

The social contract and education: Confucian viewpoints

This article explicates a Confucian perspective of the social contract and its relation with education through the philosophical thought of Xunzi. It is argued that Xunzi shares the early European social contract theorists’ presuppositions that human beings are naturally motivated by selfish desires, and therefore require a collective agreement to avoid interpersonal strife and chaos. However, Xunzi’s social compact does not originate from the people, and is instead conceived and promoted by exemplary sage kings, who need the consent from the masses to maintain legitimacy and power. Xunzi’s aim of education is to reform and transform everyone’s bad nature through li (normative behaviour). The two major educational implications are the primacy of moral inculcation and habituation for students, and role-modelling by school leaders and teachers. Both implications are illustrated using the pedagogical approach of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), which calls for a whole-school approach to support and sustain the social contract.

Police compliance with the social contract as an antecedent of police legitimacy, of satisfaction with the police, and of willingness to obey: findings from a two-stage vignette experiment

Abstract Objectives Test the effects of police compliance with the restrictions on their authority embedded in Social Contract Theory (SCT) on police legitimacy, satisfaction with the police, and willingness to obey police officers. Methods A two-stage vignette experiment. In the first, 1356 participants were randomly assigned to one of four study conditions: control, procedural justice (PJ), police performance (PP), and compliance with the social contract (SC). In the follow-up stage, 660 participants were randomly assigned to either a control or proportionality/least restrictive alternative (PL) condition. Results Compared to the control condition, the SC manipulation improved evaluations of all three dependent variables. For legitimacy, its effect was no different than that of PJ and PP. For satisfaction, it was similar to that of PP and stronger than the effect of PJ. For willingness to obey, it was no different than the effect of PJ, but stronger than that of PP. The second stage of the experiment revealed that compared to the control condition, the two unique components of the SC model (PL) significantly improved the scores of all three DVs. Conclusions Police adherence to the SC, and particularly to its two unique components, is an important determinant of police legitimacy and other outcomes, and should thus be acknowledged by researchers and practitioners. Future research is encouraged to disentangle the relative effects of the “building blocks” making up PJ, PP, and compliance with the SC.

Collaborative Governance Model of IPSPs (Independent Public Services Providers) of Joint Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDesma) in Indonesia

Introduction: Poverty alleviation of marginalized communities, especially for rural areas, uses a rural area development strategy. Law Number 6 of 2014 concern of Village Autonomy, the nature and leadership style of the Village Head emphasizes sectoral ego, low commitment, no innovation and creativity, and responsibility for development in rural areas as negative symptoms. This is a phenomenon that attracts parties as a contributing factor to the failure of collaborative governance in rural area development. Theoretical review: This study aims to explain the elements of collaborative governance of IPSPs (independent public services providers) in the development of rural areas. Governance is essentially a process, method, activity and system of cooperative interaction between a number of actors or organizations to manage together (collectivity) to implement policies based on the same goals and interests based on social contract. Methods: The method used is qualitative research with a descriptive approach. Researchers conducted 4 (four) stages including: a). data collection; b). data condensation; c). data display; d). conclusion: drawing/verifying. Result and Discussion: The results are the elements of collaborative governance for the development of rural areas have not been carried out optimally. This is due to the sectoral ego of the village government prefers to manage its own village area through village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) than managing the area together in BUMDesma Ngantang Bersinar. Conclusion: The change of BUMDesma management did not bring significant changes and lacked the willingness to produce creative and innovative ideas. In addition, the leadership factor is crucial to be considered.

The dynamics embedded in COVID-19 pandemic responses in South Africa: Implications for public healthcare delivery

South Africa recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Africa despite having what seemed to be one of the best government response mechanisms on the continent. This paper explores the responses of both the government and the citizens of South Africa to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a literature review, the study established that the government's response to the pandemic was influenced by various factors, including the responsibility to protect citizens' lives, the need to defend the state's sovereignty, and compliance with global health imperatives. This was achieved through strict and coercive government measures, which left little room for public participation in decision-making. The findings also indicate public dissent towards government directives, which may be attributed to a lack of public awareness and preparedness in public health emergencies. The social contract theory provides a useful framework for analysing and understanding the actions of the government and citizens in response to COVID-19 in South Africa. Understanding these aspects is crucial for drawing informative lessons for effective public health and socio-economic interventions in future pandemics and health-related emergencies.

Rationality and Justice: Textual investigation based on A Theory of Justice

Rawls put forward the concepts of "the original state" and "the Veil of ignorance" in his book A Theory of Justice, which made an outstanding contribution to the reconstruction of the social contract theory. On this basis, he demonstrated the combination of the two principles of justice, namely the principle of equal liberty, the principle of equal opportunity and difference principle, which had a strong impact on the long-term mainstream utilitarian view of justice. Based on the textual investigation of A Theory of Justice, this paper starts from the reason basis shared by the two, takes the relationship between reason and justice as a clue, analyzes the differences between Rawls and utilitarianism in moral philosophy and methodology, and explains the connotation of Rawls's two principles of justice in detail. On the other hand, Rawls' systematic recognition and adoption of utilitarianism, as well as the utilitarian characteristics presented in the principle of difference, make the relationship between the two show a complex state of opposition and interwoven. In this paper, Rawls's theory of justice will be deeply explored, and the internal logic of Rawls's thought of justice will be analyzed, so as to further clarify the relationship between reason and justice.

Educational Applications of ChatGPT: Ethical Challenges and Countermeasures

To mitigate the ethical risks of ChatGPT in educational applications and fully leverage the advantages of AI-enabled education, this study draws on the principles of fairness and justice theory, ethics of care theory, social contract theory, consequentialism, and virtue ethics in ethics to explore the ethical challenges of ChatGPT’s educational applications and propose corresponding strategies. The research reveals that the ethical issues in the educational use of ChatGPT include algorithmic bias and unfairness in the domain of techno-ethics, lack of algorithmic transparency and interpretability, and issues of technical reliability and misleading information. In the context of academic ethics, concerns arise regarding the legitimacy of ChatGPT’s participation as an academic researcher, the potential for academic plagiarism and misconduct resulting from ChatGPT-generated content, and the limited value of the generated content itself. In terms of educational ethics, challenges encompass issues of educational fairness and equal opportunities, the potential alienation of teacher-student relationships, and the need to strike a balance between educational goals and personalized instruction. Therefore, addressing these ethical challenges and ensuring the fulfillment of its true purpose require approaches that encompass legal regulations and moral constraints, fostering awareness among individuals involved, and defending the essence of education while fostering innovation.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PAST AND PRESENT COUPS IN AFRICA

This study is a comparative study of past and present coups in Africa. The role of the military in protecting the country and the potential security risks it poses to their own governments are discussed. The study analyzes the roots of coups in sub-Saharan Africa from 1956 to 2023, examining factors such as political instability, economic hardship, and the impact of neopatrimonialism and neocolonialism. In addition, specific coups in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Sudan are examined and the circumstances and consequences of these events are analyzed in detail. The study concludes by emphasizing the need for governments to maintain the social contract with citizens and address economic and political challenges to curb the occurrence of military coups.

Kedaulatan Negara Indonesia Ditinjau dari Sisi Politik Hukum Pertahanan Negara

National defense is a crucial aspect in maintaining the sovereignty, integrity and security of a country. This discussion reviews various aspects related to national defense, from concept to implementation in law and policy in Indonesia. The research method used is normative analysis of various legal documents and expert views related to national defense. The results of the discussion highlight the importance of integrating military and non-military defense in facing various developing threats. Inter-agency coordination, including through the National Defense Council, is considered crucial in formulating effective defense policies and strategies. In a political context, national defense is seen as the result of the political process and public policy. However, there is also the concept of legal politics which is the basis for determining the laws that apply in a country. In conclusion, national defense requires clear and structured regulations and the involvement of all elements of society to maintain stability and sustainability of defense. Continuous evaluation of the country's defense system is necessary to face the dynamics of ever-growing threats. National defense is an implementation of social contract theory which involves an agreement between citizens in society to protect their rights and obligations and ensure the harmony of interests. Every citizen has the right and obligation to participate in efforts to defend the country, both physically and non-physically, in accordance with the provisions of applicable law. Awareness of the importance of national defense, especially among the younger generation, needs to be increased to ensure their role in advancing the nation is optimal

Tinjauan Fikih Muamalah Terhadap Penambahan Kode Unik Transfer di crowdfunding Kitabisa.Com

Increased cooperation and humanitarian spirit in Indonesia, supported by technological advances, has encouraged innovation in charitable activities. Kitabisa.com, a fast-growing crowdfunding platform, facilitates online donations with various payment methods, one of which is the bank transfer method. In this method, donors are required to add a unique code for automatic verification. This research aims to determine the muamalah jurisprudence review of the practice of adding a unique code at the end of payment transfers in Kitabisa. This type of research uses a qualitative descriptive method, using a literature review. Data for this research was obtained through the Kitabisa website, as well as through interviews with muamalah fiqh experts. The result of this research is that the use of unique codes on crowdfunding platforms such as Kitabisa.com is in accordance with sharia principles, namely grant contracts, because the main contract is tabarru' or social contract, so adding a unique code is considered a form of grant or voluntary contribution from the donor for the purpose of social.

Social capital, government guidance and contract choice in agricultural land transfer.

This study explores the impact of farm households' social capital characteristics and local government policies on the selection of farmland transfer contracts in China's rural industrial revitalization context. Utilizing field research data from 1,979 households in ethnic areas of Hunan Province, this paper constructs an econometric model to assess how farm households' social capital and local governments' involvement in rural industrial revitalization influence farmland transfer contract selections. The findings indicate that, lacking government program support, farmers' social capital significantly affects contract type and duration, but not the rent. Specifically, farmers possessing extensive social capital prefer verbal and short-term contracts (coefficients of 0.525 and 0.643, significant at the 5% level), whereas their influence on rent (coefficient of 2.418, significant at the 5% level) manifests under government program support. These results challenge the conventional theory of farmland transfer contracts and offer substantial empirical support for the development of local government policies in rural industrial revitalization, underlining the critical role of government guidance and social capital in enhancing farmland transfer.

An empirical analysis of the social contract in the Middle East and North Africa region and the role of digitalization in its transformation

AbstractThis paper presents an empirical analysis of the social contract (SC) in MENA based on a simple model synthesizing three main characteristics of a SC linking governments and citizens: Participation, Protection, and Provision. Using this 3‐P framework, we focus on the role of provision and protection in determining citizen participation, a question that drew much attention following the recent economic and social developments in MENA. We compare our characterization of the SC in MENA and Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries and find robust empirical evidence that, in MENA, the benefits provided to citizens through improved delivery of basic services have come at the cost of impaired participation. We also find that digital transformation, a potential channel through which the SC may improve, has an inversely U‐shaped effect suggesting that institutional changes are called for in MENA countries before their SC is comparable to that of OECD countries.

Community educational pacts in Italy: an interpretation of UNESCO’s new social contract for education?

ABSTRACT The idea of a new social contract for education, as outlined in the UNESCO (2021) report on the Futures of Education, refers to the many instances of cooperation among communities and education systems around the world. In Italy, these experiences, commonly referred to as Community Educational Pacts, have gained increasing attention in recent years and have been seen as a potential response to the challenges affecting the Italian education system. This paper examines the theoretical underpinnings of the principle of education as a common good as the political framing for the new social contract for education. It then reviews the experience of school/community alliances in Italy, based on preliminary studies carried out by the National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research and the Forum on Inequality and Diversity. The paper ultimately discusses the extent to which these experiences can represent concrete opportunities for reimagining education and the school system grounded on the concept of education as a common good, thus providing a possible interpretation of the ‘new social contract for education’.

Satisfaction with public goods provision and citizen preferences for institutional changes: Evidence from the dictatorship‐era constitution in Chile

AbstractWe argue that a deficient provision of public goods may influence citizen satisfaction with the status quo, thereby encouraging demands for institutional changes. We formalize and test this relationship using prior data related to the recent constitutional process carried out in Chile to replace its dictatorship‐era constitution. Individual‐level data from the Chile 2016/17 AmericasBarometer survey are used to estimate ordered and multinomial probit models to study the determinants of citizen preferences for constitutional change, distinguishing between amendment and replacement. The main findings reveal that preferences for reforming the Chilean constitution can be driven by greater discontent with public goods provision. These results remain robust when estimating pseudo‐panel models using cohort‐level data and examining coefficient stability. Moreover, higher levels of corruption are associated with a stronger demand for constitutional replacement, suggesting a potential rupture in the shared social contract due to poor governance and lower political equality.

Asteroid mining vs the carbon bubble: ethical considerations for space resource extraction

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider the ethical and environmental implications of allowing space resource extraction to disrupt existing fuel economies, including how companies can be held accountable for ensuring the responsible use of their space assets. It will also briefly consider how such assets should be taxed, and the cost/benefit analyses required to justify the considerable expense of supporting this emerging space industry.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts theoretical bioethics methodologies to explore issues of normative ethics and the formulation of moral rules to govern individual, collective and institutional behaviour. Specifically, it considers social justice and social contract theory, consequentialist and deontological accounts of ethical evaluation. It also draws on sociological and organisational literature to discuss Dowling and Pfeffer’s (1975) and Suchman’s (1995) theories of pragmatic, cognitive and moral legitimacy as they may be applied to off-world mining regulations and the handling of space assets.FindingsThe findings of this conceptual paper indicate there is both a growing appetite for tighter resource extraction regulations to address climate change and wealth concentration globally, and an opportunity to establish and legitimise new ethical norms for commercial activity in space that can avoid some of the challenges currently facing fossil fuel divestment movements on Earth.Originality/valueBy adopting methodologies from theoretical bioethics, sociology and business studies, including applying a legitimacy lens to the issue of off-world mining, this paper synthesises existing knowledges from these fields and brings them to the new context of the future space resource economy.

Latin America’s Polarization in Comparative Perspective

ABSTRACTPolitical polarization is a systemic-level and multifaceted process that severs cross-cutting ties and shifts perceptions of politics to a zero-sum game. When it turns pernicious, political actors and supporters view opponents as an existential threat and the capacity of democratic institutions to process political conflict breaks down. The article identifies four common fault lines of polarization globally – who belongs, democracy, inequality and social contract. It argues that while Latin American countries experience, to varying degrees, all four of the fault lines, it is the deep-seated, persistent social hierarchies oriented around class, race, and place that stand out relative to other countries. Reaching consensus on reforms that may renew or reformulate agreements on the terms of the social contract, boundaries of community membership, and redressing social inequality is a tall task. Yet the region’s sustained consensus on the democratic rules of the game can provide the mechanisms for addressing this task if new majority coalitions can be formed.

We Accept: Bit-by-bit Constitution

Abstract In “We Accept: The Constitution of Airbnb”, published in 2020, I drew on Gunther Teubner’s systems theoretical approach, including to digitalisation and societal constitutionalism, to rethink Airbnb as an auto-constitutionalising domain. This dynamic process, the paper proceeded to suggest, instantiates a structural change, what can be described, in systems theoretical terms, as a “co-evolution” of multiple social systems through structural couplings. It renders observable an “emergence” of a general model of functioning – terms of use and engagement – epitomised by a reconceptualisation of the “social contract” as a network of “standard form contracts” or “contracts of adhesion”, and of an increasingly dominant mode of subjectivation: the standard formation or auto-constitution of subjects as adherents. In this new contribution, I continue this processing of social systems theory and Teubner’s work, this time through a deconstruction and reconstruction of Internet communication. Through this recursive illustration of social systems theory and Teubner’s work, the paper develops a social systems theoretical account of “process”, “constitution”, and “structural change”.