A SUMMARY OF HUME’S SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

A SUMMARY OF HUME’S SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

David Hume is notably one of the earliest critics of the social contract theory. In his essay titled ‘On Civil Liberty”, he posited that the social contract theory is a convenient fiction. Hume grounds his critique on the basis that all men are naturally born equal and owe allegiance to no prince or government unless bound by the obligation and sanction of a promise. He further argued that the consent of the governed was the ideal foundation on which a government should rest, but that it had never actually occurred historically. Hume posited that all government either present or past has assumed authority either through usurpation or conquest without any fair consent or voluntary subjection of the people therefore, they lack legitimacy which social contract guarantees.

However, Hume reasons of a tacit consent to a social contract. He posits that by living under the dominion of a prince which one might leave, one has given a tacit consent to his authority and promised him obedience. Hume exemplifies this tacit consent with five arguments. The first argument illustrates the contract implicit consent as a result of being born in a particular location and under a particular form of government while the second posits of the dependency on a government to be the base of the implicit consent. The last example present the case where a usurper overthrows a lawful prince and establishes a dominion which people would abhor in their hearts but nevertheless submit their consent to his rule.

Furthermore, Hume believes and repeatedly emphasized that appeal to common opinion counters contract theory. For instance, when a greater number of a society is questioned about their consent to the authority of their rulers, their possible response would be that it depends not on their consent but that they were born to such obedience. Nevertheless, Hume’s meta-ethics leads him to the view that common opinion is authoritative in moral matters. A corollary from Hume’s meta-ethics directs to a series of moral obligations. In line with that, Hume posited of a moral obligation to submit and to obey a government because it is the common opinion although no existing social contract attests to it and also a disobedience to government naturally produces displeasure to anyone who reflects on it.

Therefore, taking a profound survey in Hume’s political philosophy (social contract theory) is a found a strong connection of his meta-ethics as the foundation. More so, his appeal to common opinion lays emphasis on utilitarianism while his moral obligation concept puts a strong claim on the deontology principle.