The doctrine of social contract sparked by Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) and John Locke (1632-1704) provides philosophical understanding of the connection between man and society. By popularizing the concept on themes such as the state of nature, human nature, and natural law, both thinkers hold that man’s interrelationship with other members of society is influenced by events- favourable or unfavourable. Therefore, living at a time of widespread of poverty, injustice, crime and civil disturbances, Hobbes and Locke had similar notion of social reality.
Hobbes and Locke agreed that the drive of the state is to bring peace, security and the well-being of its individuals. According to Hobbes, man eventually gives away his punitivelifeto live right in society. He becomes more rational and so is forbidden to destroy his life and property as well as that of others. Again,because men want peace and fear death, they would draw up articles of peace and articles of restraint upon whoever lives in the state. These would bring order and progress in society.
By agreeing with Hobbes, Locke admits to the Hobbesian nature of man in that, society cannot always contain perfect men. At a point, men would degenerate and for which they must be punished. For instance, although Islamic States have laws to ensure order and protect citizens, there are some which use Sharia law to ruthlessly punish offenders for theft, murder and promiscuity. This is to make the culprit repent and also to serve as deterrent to others. In Ghana, the degenerate are convicted by court and jailed, while at other times the public lynch them to death. This degeneration and brutality affirms Hobbes analysis of human life as short, solitary, nasty and brutish.
Again, the English philosophers establish that men have the inclination to revolt against the state or sovereign should they fail to deliver on promises, or on grounds of incompetence and mismanagement. Locke justified this when he recounted how in 1688 the people dismissed a sovereign. In post-independence era Ghana beheld such revolutions in the attempt to change government. This was evidence during the regime of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) led by Flt. Lieut. Jerry John Rawlings, and the Supreme Military Council One and Two (SMC I and II).
In spite of their mutual views on the nature of man as well as his interrelationship with state or society, Hobbes and Locke have deferring positions on the matter.
John Locke reasoned that governmental separation of powers is important for a balance in share of responsibility, and that people establish a civil society to resolve conflict. But for Hobbes, the inconveniences made him opt for an ultimate sovereign. This monarch (as typical of Britain and Saudi Arabia) would provide strong governance to end the brutalities. Hobbes theorized this in his 1651 book the “Leviathan” in which he proposed sovereignty rule. Both conceptions have semblance to the Ghanaian context. History show traces of sovereign rule as exemplified in the chieftaincy system. Although retained, the Ghanaian society has evolved to embrace a more segregated and balanced power structure- a government made up of the executive, legislature and judiciary, the media and other civil agencies.
Secondly, being influenced by the discipline and affection from his father and friends, Locke noted that men are decent, orderly, socially minded and capable of ruling themselves. And as rational beings they would provide rights and duties in order to live peacefully in society. Hobbes however argues that man is moved by fear and self-interest, and so would use force to obtain his desires and to achieve order. Such state of insecurity has been experienced by nearly all societies. In Ghana, although the Law frowns on bad behaviour and activity, sections of the populace live in fear of criminals, while the self-centeredness of others cause them to infringe on the rights and liberties of particularly the ignorant.
Another distinction by Hobbes is that man has the right to use power in preserving his life and property against that of others. In such state of anarchy, the sovereign must institute clearly defined privileges and restrictions to achieve security. Nonetheless, Locke envisioned a society where man has sympathy, love and tenderness to perform socially cohesive acts- helping the needy, doing communal labour. Thus, having respect and dignity for each other, no one ought to neither do injury to another nor violate their right and privacy. For instance, the affluent in society often use their position to deny the weak and marginalized of their right and property. This is evident in Ghana, where often times the powerful (some politicians) get away with wrongs after a court finds them not guilty.
Moreover, by arguing that man is a moral being, Locke holds that they would lead a life that corresponds to the moral life- chastity, obedience, kindness and reverence to God. For Locke, the state and its institutions must create a civil atmosphere for harmonious human coexistence. By this thinking, Locke saw a democratic society where sovereigns rule by the consent and for the benefit of citizens. However, Hobbes explains that man has a completely determined behaviour due to contact with other men, that is, the negative man. And so corrupted by this contact, men devise hurt and covetousness against one another. In the Ghanaian context, religion has cemented the morality of most faithful. Others who are disinterested and attune themselves towards negative social matters have become promiscuous and deviants.
Besides their common and deferring viewpoints, Hobbes and Locke established the social contract on the basis that, the sovereign power to govern society must be a shared responsibility between a structure involving a legislature, executive and judiciary. The legislature and executive according to Locke must work hand in hand to initiate and approve laws for the state or society. But thedecisions they take need the consent of the entire citizens. The legislative body must contain majority and minority personnel who are representative of the society. The majority will decide for the state on political, economic, social and religious issues. Their decisions may however not be always be right. Locke acknowledges the controversies that may result from understanding and enforcing the laws of society. In this wise, he opted for an independent judiciary made up of judges and lawyers to interpret the laws for members of society to understand. They are obliged to declare as unlawful any decision taken by the other two arms of governance.
The afore-mentioned shows how profoundly the English philosophers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, analyzed the influence of social events on man in society. In spite of their deferring positions on the state of nature, human nature and natural law, both thinkers hold that however unfavourable events may be, man would work together to bring progress, development in society and also for their well-being. It is this thinking that forms their social contract theory. It is insightful and therefore relevant to the study of human behaviour and actions in modern times.
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