Social Contract Paper

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derived from religious authority, also known by the description of the Divine Right of Kings. “Sir Robert Filmer’s great position is, that "men are not naturally free." This is the foundation on which his absolute monarchy stands, and from which it erects itself to an height, that its power is above every power…” (Two Treatises of Government). Filmer believed all governments were absolute monarchies and that no man is born free, men cannot choose their governors, thus government by consent is to be rejected; that the masses do not possess the intellectual wherewithal to elect their leaders. “The move towards a civil, law-abiding society, also shows why absolute monarchy is inconsistent with that society” (Two Treatises of Government). I further examined in the second treatise which consists of my own constructive view of the aims and justification for civil government. “The state of nature is not just a theoretical conception, for wherever there is a lack of government or arbitrating institutions between men or nations, the state of nature presides. “For ’tis not every Compact that puts an end to the State of Nature between men”. Overall, I believe the only legitimate reason for a government to is to preserve and protect these rights: including life, liberty, and property. If any government should violate these rights of an individual the social contract has been destroyed leaving the individual free to rebel in order to establish a new and better contract.

One of my most central concepts in political philosophy is my theory of natural law and natural rights. Natural rights emphasized privileges or claims to which an individual was entitled. Natural law and natural right may be combined, but one must take precedence over the other; Either the individual’s right or his duty to moral law. Men in the state of nature are free and equal, and at liberty to do as they wish but only within the bounds of the law of nature. Individuals have the right to property, individuals have a duty to respect the property (and lives and liberties) of others even in the state of nature.

Margaret Thatchers First Term:

During her first term as Britain’s Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher experienced an economic crisis, but vital long term gains were made as well. The new government pledged to check and reverse Britain’s economic decline, this meant painful measures were required in the short term. With the economy already entering a recession, inflation rose as well as interest rates in order to keep up. While direct taxes were cut, indirect taxes increased in order to create a balance. By the end of her first term unemployment rates were extremely high reaching over three million and did not begin to fall until 1986 (Essential Margaret Thatcher). In the long term Inflation was checked and the government insisted it would do whatevers necessary to keep it from rising. The budget of spring 1981 increased taxes at the lowest point of the recession but it made possible a cut in interest rates; economic recovery started in the same quarter and continued for a long period of time. The Falklands Wars were crucial in the re-election of the government. The Argentine Junta’s invasion of the Falkland Islands in April 1982 was met by Margaret Thatcher; although she worked with the US administration in pursuing the possibility of a diplomatic solution resulting in a British military Task Force dispatching to retake the islands; however, when diplomacy failed, military action was quickly successful and the Falklands were back under British control by June 1982 (Foster).

During the duration of Margaret Thatcher’s first term I disagree with how she handled taxing and her attempts to reform the economy; however I agree with her fighting the Argentinians to regain the Falkland islands. I disagree with Thatcher’s decision to increase indirect taxes because “Government originates in the consent of the people it presumes to lead and for their benefit alone; its legitimacy is dependent on continuous adherence to such principles” (Two Treatises of Government). The taxes imposed by Thatcher did not benefit the majority of the people as inflation and interest rates grew as well resulting in an increase of unemployment and this resulted in the illegitimacy of Thatcher’s government. I believe that government has no other end, but the natural rights one being the preservation of property. “And here we have the plain difference between the state of nature and the state of war, which, however some men have confounded, are as far distant as a state of peace, goodwill, mutual assistance and preservations, and a state of enmity, malice, violence and mutual destruction are one from another. Men living together according to reason, without a common superior on earth with authority to judge between them, is properly the state of nature” (Two Treatises of Government). Although war causes the spread violence and malice in this case Margaret Thatcher used war as a means of reclaiming Britain’s property. Therefore I believe for the Britain’s Government to interfere to reclaim property taken by them was an acceptable use of government fulfilling its purpose.

Margaret Thatchers Second Term:

During Thatcher’s second term she had to deal with many domestic affairs as well as a foreign. The government found itself challenged by the miners’ union, which fought a year-long strike in 1984-1985 under militant leadership. The labour movement resisted the government’s trade union reforms, which began with legislation in 1980 and 1982 and continued after the General Election. The union was defeated, this proved a crucial development because it ensured that the Thatcher reforms would endure. In the following years the Labour Opposition quietly accepted the trade union legislation and pledged not to reverse its key components. “Men no longer had to join a trade union, and this, combined with the program of privatizing nationalized industries, resulted in a reduction of union membership” (Martino and Boyson). "What we are seeking to do is to protect the rights of individuals within a closed shop: the individual who has a deeply held personal conviction [against joining the union], the individual who is a member of a firm before a closed shop is introduced, the individual who has his union card taken away from him and thereby can lose his job; then damages can be awarded against the employer, or the union, or both. That seems to us a practical way" (The Trade Unions). Thatcher’s Government attempted to protect the individual’s rights of the people who made up the Trade Unions. Thatcher succeeded in taming the unions, as well as shrinking government’s direct role in the economy through privatization. She extended to the working-class