the imposition of law as free will The Imposition of Law as Free Will The Myth of the Social Contract The Social Contract is defined to be the method by which a people agree to the systematic limitation of their rights for the purpose of gaining governmental protection. It is the theory that all people agree to the imposition of law and the restriction of their personal freedoms in exchange for safety. The founding tenet of the Social Contract is that people agree to the limitation of their natural rights for the benefit of governmental protection. Yet most often in a working society can one see that many people do not agree to the oppression of law; rather, that they rebel against it. The Social Contract is meant to justify governmental oppression by saying that people consent to, indeed support it. The ideas expressed in this theory, though, are not reflected within the working of a real society. Many people, though they often may not constitute the majority, actually resist the imposition of law because they refuse to surrender their natural rights to a government that they perceive to be a menace to their liberty and a threat to their safety. The Social Contract attempts to portray the state as the free will of mankind. Yet individuals do not consent to the rule of their government, rather it is imposed upon them. Children are taught respect for the law and government but, as adults, they are not given the ability to make a rational decision on whether or not to accept them. As clearly stated by Joseph Raz in his text “The Obligation to Obey the Law”, “The obligation to obey the law is a general obligation applying to all the law’s subjects and to all occasions to which they apply. To look for an obligation to obey the law of a certain country is to look for grounds which make it desirable, other things being equal, that one should do as the law requires.” People are not allowed the ability to logica...
