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The social contract, as defined by Hobbes, promotes a good relationship between people and government.

a) True
b) False

1 Answer

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Final answer:

Hobbes's concept of the social contract promotes a relationship between people and government based on the necessity of avoiding a chaotic state of nature by surrendering freedoms to an absolute monarch, rather than a relationship based on mutual goodwill or democracy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of the social contract, as defined by Hobbes, is predicated on the idea that in order to escape a brutish state of nature, individuals collectively surrender some freedoms and grant absolute power to a monarch. This covenant between the people and the ruler is meant to achieve peace, stability, and order. Hobbes believed in the necessity of an absolute authority, often in the form of a monarch, because without it, he thought society would descend into chaos and anarchy due to individuals acting out of self-interest.

Therefore, in Hobbes's perspective, the social contract promotes a functioning relationship between people and government out of the necessity to avoid the dismal state of nature, rather than from a perspective of mutual goodwill or democracy. So, the social contract, as defined by Hobbes, does promote a relationship intended to benefit both people and government, but it is not necessarily 'good' if interpreted as based on egalitarian, democratic principles.

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