In Social Contract Theory, human beings enter into into a social contract with each other. They build societies together. They create economies. They build communities and homes.
Why?
Generally, a person is not an island. Not in any way. Your very language is social. And it is literally how you think. A person without a social contract from the beginning is not just feral–they are barely even human. A feral person assumes there’s a community one is supposed to belong to.
All of this is great, but it doesn’t come for free.
When you enter into a social contract, implicitly or explicitly, you get responsibilities. You can’t just fuck around.
Aristotle said that human being are political animals. And they are. You truly are not a human being if you never have something like a polity. These things make for a flourishing life, a human life.
There are many versions of the social contract. You can look at Hobbes, who I think is probably correct.
You may not always feel like paying taxes, going to work, thinking about others. That’s fine. Whatever. But just know that without the social contract, you are less than nothing. So, really, you owe it. And us.
