Social Contract
●​ Do we need a government?
○​ Everyone has the same rights (ex. Free speech, free religion, property, tax
others, punish/imprison), which means that one can infringe on another’s rights
■​ State of constant war with no safety (state of nature by Thomas Hobbes
who advocated for a strong central government to keep people in check concept can be seen in his work “Leviathan”)
●​ Social contract: agreement between the people and a government to give up some
rights exchange for the protection of other rights
○​ Ex. Giving up the right to tax and punish/imprison others to protect freedom of
religion and speech
○​ Social contract is needed to keep order among the people
Democratic Ideals of the US Government
●​ Natural Rights: rights that all people are born with (cannot be taken away)
○​ Present in the Declaration of Indepence → life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness
●​ Popular Sovereignty: the power rests on the people instead of the federal government
●​ Social Contract
Democratic Principles
●​ Republic: elected representatives, chosen by the people through elections
(Representation)
●​ Limited Government
○​ Separation of powers & checks and balances to limit the power of the three
branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial)
■​ Each branch has their own designated powers which overlap with another
branch
●​ Federalism: power divided between the state government and federal government