The Individual State and Society

This essay discusses the different approaches of Rousseau and Locke to identify the role of state in the perspective of welfare. It also highlights the classical and modern implication of social contract theory and the practice of nature of the state.

Running head: THE INDIVIDUAL STATE AND SOCIETY
THE INDIVIDUAL STATE AND SOCIETY
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The concept of nature of the state is an idea of government in which the authority is
considered to be the protagonist in providing protection and promotion of the social and
economic well being for the citizens. The idea of equality or opportunities for all is the key idea
that personifies the practice of being a welfare state (Bell 2014). However, the concept is not a
new idea and has a foundation since 19th century. In this regards, there are some theories opined
by Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke in their social contract theory that reflected the role of
the state in this response. Rousseau is famous for his social contract theory and the role of the
nation as a welfare state. It can be argued that he propounded the theories at the time when there
were a number of political and religious upheaval encircled the social life of England (Murphy
and Stoica 2015). He argued for the authority of the state over individual liberty. On a contrary,
the theory of Locke had manifested his arguments on the basis of state of the nature that is
associated with peace, good will and mutual assistance. Based on these arguments, the essay is
going to discuss different approaches of Rousseau and Locke to identify the role of state in the
perspective of welfare. In addition to this, the discussion is forwarded with a proper
understanding of the classical and modern implication of social contract theory and the practice
of nature of the state.
Locke’s theory of liberalism
John Locke’s theory of liberalism is highly differed from the Hobbes social contract
principles. Locke advocated his theory in the Two Treatise of the Government (Simmons 2014).
According to Locke, person in the states of nature would willing to come forward together in
order to form a government (Beattie 2017). The citizens of a state are bound morally by the Law

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of Nature. As a result of that there is no presence of brutality and harmful activities as far as the
people are going to follow the Laws of Nature. Moreover, Locke believed that the individual
rights and liberty is necessitated and people would live in fear. As a response to that people
should come forward and form a state so that the neutral attitude of the state would be beneficial
for the citizens to safeguard their interests (Rossi 2014). In compare to Hobbes claim over
absolute authority, Locke put more focus on the individual role that is more valuable than the
government. The government is bound to do their job as per the wish of the citizens. Refuting the
theory of absolute authority, Locke supported the theory of separation of power. This is
considered to be an iconic feature of his social contract theory.
Classical approach
Based on this theory, it can be argued that Locke’s theory is highly depended upon the
natural rights to life, liberty and property. In this regards, it is the responsibility of the
government to preserve the rights of the individuals (Lehto 2015). It can be argued that people
had a natural right that must be protected by the government. For example, the UK government
introduces a safety framework for the unemployed citizens of the country (Ryan 2017).
However, despite this benevolent effort provided by the government it can be argued that the
dependency of the unemployed people has been increased in a great deal of manner that in return
perturbed the means of welfare state. As a result of that issues like bunking schools are very
popular among the students and many of them are not willing to get a job.
In relation to this, the classical approach of liberalism highlights the role of the
government to set some rules and regulations so that the people can get the benefits of the state.
As a matter of this, it can be presumed that the citizens of the country will depend on the

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government assistance in every sphere of their life. It can be seen in case of the UK
unemployment policies as well. In this country, the government takes a number of welfare
initiatives for the unemployed and poor people. As a matter of fact, the government initiatives
would lead towards an underclass group where living of standards is definitely improved but the
stagnation in social mobility would be stalled.
In the modern aspects there are some implications regarding the theory of Locke’s liberal
ideology. According to the liberal approach of Locke, it can be ascribed that the liberal ideology
ushers the idea of positive freedom. In other words, it can be seen as the practice through which
people are rewarded for doing wrong things (BBC News 2018). As a matter of fact, many people
are getting convicted despite of doing best for their families.
Rousseau’s theory
Jean Jacques Rousseau was considered to be the exponent of the state of the nature and
social contract theory. It can be argued that Rousseau’s social contract theory is the foundation of
the idea of democracy that is practiced today. In his account in the name of Foundations of
Inequality Among Men, Rousseau advocated a moral and political evolution of men that
assimilates from the state of nature to the modern society (Skyrms 2014). Moreover, in his
writings on state of nature, the necessity of freedom was highly patronized in order to make the
state liberal in approach.
During the discussion on state of nature Rousseau had argued that the modern society
generally compares unfavorably to the state of nature. In fact, it can be considered that the social
contract theory between the state and the individual seemed to be relied upon the social contract

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theory in which physical freedom and liberty are considered to be the pivotal factors (Douglass
2015). The state of nature was identified by Rousseau as a hypothetical, primitive and prevalent
at a time when people are uncorrupted and naïve (Hasan 2018). As a result of that the state of
nature was labeled as backdated and ineffective in nature. In the perception of Rousseau, the
state of nature had to b more positive and docile in order to serve the interest of the people.
Therefore, it should be peaceful and civilized in manner. It should be based on the public
government where the mass must have the right to choose government. In fact, the government
must be impartial and equal for all the citizens (Masters 2015). The natural rights are also
considered to be discussed in this context. He ascribed that all men are equal in the nature and no
one has the right to govern others. As a result of that the justified authority must be benevolent
towards the citizens and is generated out of agreements or covenants.
Based on this understanding, it can be argued that the nature of state and social contract
theory of Rousseau specifically depicts the relation between men and the modern state. It should
be the responsibility of the state to take care of the interests of the common people and the
sufferers (Douglass 2015). As in the film, I, Daniel Blake the director Ken Loach was rightly
portrayed an image of the people who are physically challenged or unemployed and seek
government aid in terms of monetary or special privilege assistance (Ryan 2017). However, the
film showed that there was lack of government assistance for the unemployed and physically
challenged people. Some process and framework are there in the UK government policy but the
authority did not want to use it for the benefits of the people.
In this regards, another example of Rousseau’s theory can be seen in the government
practice in UK. The freedom of the people and ventilate their demands are defined as the pivotal
factors in this regards. In the concept of the welfare state the government publishes a number of

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bills that are expected to be implied for the benefits of the people. In fact, people are often
rewarded for doing wrong things and innocent people are penalized. This is a disadvantage of the
modern liberal approach of statecraft (Ryan 2017). However, there are some provisions for the
disabled people in terms of living allowances. The unemployed citizens are also getting financial
assistance in the form of jobseeker’s allowance and other kinds of privileges.
As a matter of fact, the government organizations are also responsible to safeguards the
rights of the minorities and poor people. In case of the Seattle homeless people the US
government was going to raise the tax on firms to $ 47 million in order to extract surplus money
that would be spent on building project for the homeless people (BBC News 2018).
Therefore, it can be argued that there are positive and negative approaches of the liberal
ideologies in classical and modern sense. Furthermore, there are a number of alternative
approaches in the classical and modern sense of liberalism. In fact, the concept of liberalism has
widened the activities of the state in a great deal of manner so that it could safeguard the interests
of the people on a more profound basis.

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Reference
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Toleration from Locke to Mill. The Catholic Lawyer, 43(2), p.6.
Bell, D., 2014. What is liberalism?. Political Theory, 42(6), pp.682-715.
Douglass, R., 2015. Rousseau and Hobbes: Nature, Free Will, and the Passions. OUP Oxford.
Hasan, R., 2018. Rousseau on the ground of obligation: Reconsidering the Social Autonomy
interpretation. European Journal of Political Theory, 17(2), pp.233-243.
Lehto, O., 2015. The Three Principles Of Classical Liberalism (From John Locke To John
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[Accessed 31 May 2018].

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Simmons, A.J., 2014. On the edge of anarchy: Locke, consent, and the limits of society.
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