Social Contract, Democracy, and Liberalism: Core Concepts
Social Contract and General Will
The social contract is an agreement in which all individuals are subjected to a general will. All individuals must submit to the general will. The general will is the will of all people; it makes laws that must be applied to all equally, thus establishing the common good. The common good enables the welfare and happiness of citizens.
Governments are linked to the common good through different forms: monarchy (rule of one), aristocracy (the government of the best), and republic (rule of the majority).
Liberalism and the State
Liberalism defends the state’s social situation, advocating that the state should allow maximum freedom for the development of civil society. The state’s function is to harmonize the interests of various individuals. The people always have the right to rebel against tyranny.
Types of Liberty
- Natural liberty: Individual freedom held in the state of nature.
- Civil liberty: Freedom that an individual has as a member of civil society.
- Moral freedom: Arises as a result of the individual submitting their actions to the principles or laws emanating from the general will, moving beyond their natural impulses.
Democracy: Foundations and Principles
Today, we understand democracy as the fruit of four fundamental contributions:
- Popular will as the source of political power.
- Establishment of limits to that power, determined by rights.
- Extension of citizenship to all individuals subject to the same state.
- Establishment of systems for the redistribution of wealth.
Democracy means rule by the people. People refers to all citizens.
Athenian Democracy
In ancient Athens, there were requirements to be considered a citizen: being male, being free, and being a native of Athens. The government was exercised in the following way: citizens elected a council called the Council of Five Hundred (Boule), which prepared meetings of the Assembly (Ekklesia), where matters were voted on.
Differences Between Athenian and Modern Democracy
- The condition of citizenship was restricted to a very limited number of inhabitants in Athenian democracy.
- Decisions were made in assemblies of all citizens in Athenian democracy, representing direct democracy. In modern democracies, decisions are made by representatives of citizens, making them representative democracies.
- The assembly had almost unlimited power over individuals in Athenian democracy; there was no system of guarantees of individual rights.
The Liberal Conception of the State
In the liberal conception of the state, political power exists to protect the natural rights of individuals. It must establish a division of powers, so these are controlled by each other. The legislature should be in the hands of representatives of citizens.
Division of Powers in a Democratic State
- Legislative: Makes the laws (e.g., Parliament).
- Executive: Enforces and applies the laws.
- Judicial: Interprets the law and imposes sanctions on offenders.
Democratic Rules
- In a democratic state, there should be freedom of law and politics, meaning freedom to participate in all matters relating to state government.
- In a democratic state, governments should be elected by citizens.
- Citizens should be equal before the law.
- Control mechanisms, such as the separation of powers, must exist.
- In a democratic state, the representatives of the majority of citizens should govern.
- Mechanisms must guarantee a number of basic rights to individuals. These rights are often enshrined in the constitutions of various countries.
Performance Limits of Democratic Power
- If the rights individuals have as citizens are violated, the very foundation of the democratic state is undermined.
- Everyone belongs to some kind of minority.
- Any minority should be allowed to become a future majority.
Unions
Unions are organizations with the objective of fighting for the interests of workers.
Social Reformers
- Jeremiah Bentham: Founder of utilitarianism. He believed a just state is one that provides the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.
- Henri de Saint-Simon: Advocated for a new organization of the state where spiritual power should pass into the hands of scientists.
- John Stuart Mill: Advocated for a social system halfway between liberalism and socialism. His wife was one of the pioneers in the fight for women’s equality.
Socialism and Democracy
Social-communists defended the revolutionary path to ensure the triumph of socialism, viewing democracy as merely a political system serving the capitalists. Others advocated for a reformist path to socialism and defended democratic political institutions.