In modern times, the theory of natural rights and social contract had finally become exempt from its previous theological justification. At the same time it became the basis for a rational understanding of the society and the state. The adoption of social contract theory in legal thought creates an opportunity for the different political concepts to be revealed – in favor of the monarchy and against it (in favor of the society). Hugo Grotius, a prominent representative of the school of natural law in early modern times shared its general theory of the origin of the state contract. Grotius and Hobbes stood together at the head of the school of natural law, another called “state of nature”, which is in accordance with the general tendencies of the era sought to construct the integrity of the building of right by rational deduction from the fictitious – state of nature - which was followed by the conclusion of the social contract (Thornton 4-6).
Thomas Hobbes (1588 - 1679) - English philosopher, deduced from the idea of the state of nature to the state of people. According to Hobbes, the natural state comes from the war of all against all, which leads to mutual destruction (Thornton 71). The way out of this situation is the social contract that provides rights and freedoms of individuals in the state. State power appears in this concept as an expression of the common good and is absolute in its nature. John Locke, starting from a pessimistic theory of Hobbes, became inclined to interpret the natural state as the equality and freedom of individuals (Thornton 41-42).
Based on concept of freedom and natural rights, Hobbes made a clear distinction between the right and the law. Thus, the right is the freedom to do or not do anything, and the law, on the contrary, identifies and commits to do something or not to do. Thus, the law and the right distinguish in the point obligation and freedom, which is incompatible in the same regard.
Following the demands of reason, people come to realize the need to limit the arbitrariness of each other and reconcile in the face of a single will, able to provide them any lasting peace. The bearer of this Hobbes declares as state. Thus, based on the construction of the social organism Hobbes states theoretical and methodological idea of social atomism and moral-ethical idea of the evil will of men. This new state of society, risen above the "natural state", is the result of a "social contract", the essence of which is the abandoning selfishness of "natural" will of the individual and the recognition of the sovereignty of the state. Contract - quite peculiar category of legal philosophy of Hobbes, which does not denote any single act, but a permanent state of consciousness and the will of the citizens to voluntarily recognize the authority of the state. The idea of the social contract and all contractual nature of the state is one of the most influential ideas in a number of political theories of modern times (Thornton 101-103).
The concepts of "state of nature" and "social contract" for Hobbes, as father of these theories, performed hardly historical but more likely logical characteristics of the society, a kind of mental model that serves to highlight certain aspects of the existing social relations. So, the real analogue of the Hobbes state of nature is not in primitive and archaic history but in the history of contemporary civil wars and revolutions. Popular sovereignty as a form of democracy is the principle of the constitutional order. Sovereignty characterizes the recognition of multinational people as the only source of power, as well as the free exercise of this power according to his sovereign will and fundamental interests. The sovereignty of people has the possession of political and socio-economic means, comprehensively and fully ensuring the real participation of the people in the affairs of society and the state. The principle of popular sovereignty is a concentrated expression of the social experience and contains a certain proportion of the conventions required for the harmonization of the legal reality. From its implementation depends stability, law and order in the state and society. The nation is conceived as a collective whole, which makes it possible to present politically executed will of society as a universal and unified will of the whole (De Maistre 45-49).
Work Cited
De Maistre, Joseph, Marie and Lebrun, Richard. Against Rousseau: On the State of Nature and On the Sovereignty of the People. USA: McGill-Queen's Press, 1996. Print.
Thornton, Helen. State of Nature Or Eden?: Thomas Hobbes and His Contemporaries on the Natural Condition of Human Beings. New York: Boydell & Brewer, 2005. Print.
