Hobbes, Locke, and the Social Contract:Explain what Hobbes and Locke meant by a social contract. Why did Hobbes think people would choose to enter...

Social contract refers to collection of ideas that support
the theory that people voluntarily give up some of their natural freedoms to some
central governing or regulating authority to reap the benefits of collective and
cooperative living. The benefit result from maintenance of social order based on rule of
law. One important premise of the social contract theories is that that the government
or any other authority derives power to rule from the consent of those
governed.

Three of the earliest and very important
contributor to the concept of social contract are Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), John Locke
(1632-1724), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).

Hobbes
believed people choose to enter into social contracts voluntarily giving up some of
their natural freedom to protect themselves from the chaos of what Hobbes called "war of
all against all" that will develop in absence of rule of
law.

Locke's concept of social contract envisaged the
creation of a neutral judge that could protect the life liberty and property of those
living within the system of social contract. This concept differs from that of Hobbes
primarily in the degree of to which people need to be restrained by the social
contract.

More details of concept of social contract are
available on the web page referred.