Social Contracts

There is a common belief (although not necessarily an accurate one) that there is an implied "social contract" that goes something like:

"The problem is to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before." This is the fundamental problem of which the Social Contract provides the solution.

If then we discard from the social compact what is not of its essence, we shall find that it reduces itself to the following terms:

"Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will, and, in our corporate capacity, we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole."

by Jean Jacques Rousseau; 1762

Translated by G. D. H. Cole, public domain

These simple arguments seem to crystallize the debate that continues throughout our political and philosophical arenas.

• Is there really a "social contract" between an individual and all other individuals in a society... and if so, what are the terms and conditions... what must I do and what can I expect?
• How are my rights as an individual protected?
• What are my responsibilities as an individual toward society?
• What happens to my rights if I fail in my responsibilities?
• What are my rights if society fails in its responsibilities?
• Can my rights be more important than someone else's'?
  

One only has to look at the volume of laws and judicial opinions to see that there is no "real" answer... only efforts to balance the rights of individuals versus the demands of social membership. One has only to look at the spectrum of political rhetoric to see that there are many "possible" answers.