Individuals and the State: Social Contract Theory from Hobbes to Rousseau

(2.5,3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

POL 20010 Individuals and the State: Social Contract Theory from Hobbes to Rousseau at UCD; What, if anything, makes political authority legitimate - power, or the consent of the governed? When do people have the right to resist their government? Is the solution to the problem of order strong government, limited government, or self-government? Is society and politics founded on a contract expressing the agreement of the people? Is the state an artificial entity designed to minimise conflict and protect individual rights? Which come first: individual rights or political order? Is it possible to be free under government? Are there good reasons why we should obey government? This module addresses these central issues for contemporary political affairs, and examines the arguments advanced by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, three contrasting thinkers, who significantly influenced the development of western political thought and institutions, and whose arguments still challenge us today.