As you step into the elevator, the operator greets you, “You’re back! How did it go?”
“It was fantastic,” you enthuse. “Each individual volunteering to give up some natural freedom in order to protect what is rightfully earned. I think that is a great way to form a state.”
“Not so fast,” a gentle voice replies as a man moves to step off the elevator. “I’m here to meet with Mr. Locke and object to many of the basic tenets of social contract theory. If I may delay you, I’ll explain myself.” The man sticks his foot in the jamb of the elevator door to prevent it from closing and continues. “I’m George Hegel, by the way. I’d like to point out a few flaws in the illustrious theories of Mr. Locke. My fellow communitarians and I believe that social contract theory wrongly emphasizes the individual. Humans are social creatures and the community is the center of society and government. We believe that the state is natural rather than an artificial construct. Consider this, if people in a state of nature have no concept of the state, how could they suddenly organize themselves into a state? That doesn’t make sense.”
“I guess you’re right,” you consider.
“Of course! Locke thinks that people give up freedom to enter into a contract. The state is not the means by which an individual limits his or her own freedom in order to secure a small space of liberty. Instead, the state allows freedom. Freedom doesn’t mean that you won’t interfere in the lives of others. Freedom is doing everything you can with your abilities. The state opens up the range of possible achievements. Each person must embrace the practices of his or her society and then develop within these parameters. The social contract is an artificial contraption. Communitarians are much closer to the reality of our natural social behavior.”
The elevator begins to ding in protest of the open door, and operator signals that she needs to put her machine back in motion. Waving apologetically, Hegel steps out of the way and hands you a heavy book. “Here is a volume of my work explaining these theories more carefully.” Happy with the addition but weighed down by these new considerations, you mull over the limitations of the social contract as the elevator lurches into motion.
