Social Contract
Social contract is an agreement which establishes a reciprocal relationship between the state and the individual. As citizens, individuals might surrender certain freedoms under such formal or informal agreement, in exchange for health coverage and other forms of protections from their government.
WHO Definition of Social Contract
Rousseau compares the social contract to an “act of association” whereby there is reciprocal commitment between the state and the individual.
Primary reference: Carrin GJ. Rousseau's" social contract": contracting ahead of its time?. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2006;84:916-8.
Definitions of Social Contract
WHO Bulletin [1]
Rousseau compares the social contract to an “act of association” whereby there is reciprocal commitment between the state and the individual.
World Bank [2]
"For a succinct yet comprehensive overview of the history and development of the term, see the website Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource, s.v. “Social Contract Theory,” http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/. A brief and succinct legal definition of a social contract is “[t]he express or implied agreement between citizens and their government by which individuals agree to surrender certain freedoms in exchange for mutual protection” (emphasis added)."
Brookings [3]
"Over the course of the 20th century...a new social contract evolved that defined the appropriate role of the public and private sectors in reducing risks to individuals by taking on a share of those risks, by:
- Expanding public programs
- Increased private sector involvement in pensions and health coverage
- Significant personal responsibility, through relatively high savings rates and
- Increased purchase of private insurance
This social contract rested on important economic principles. Two are key. First, a certain amount of risk is essential for a dynamic, growing economy....Second, not all individuals have the same preference for risk (or capacity to endure it)."
Center for Global Development [4]
Note: Article equates development as 'global social contract'
"Defining development as construction of a global social contract suggests two challenges for development advocates. First, it suggests a definition of development as a global imperative in which all nations and people have a common interest—rather than as a matter primarily of aid as charity passed from rich to poor nations.... Second, it suggests putting high priority on strengthening the institutions that manage and protect our common interest by fostering growth and sustainable development worldwide...."
[1] Carrin GJ. Rousseau's "social contract": contracting ahead of its time?. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2006;84:916-8. https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/84/11/06-034389.pdf
[2] Wouters J, Ninio A, Doherty T, Cisse' H, editors. The World Bank Legal Review Volume 6 Improving Delivery in Development: The Role of Voice, Social Contract, and Accountability. The World Bank; 2015 Mar 12.
[3] https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/PB_SocialInsurance_Galston.pdf
[4] https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/Birdsall_Jan_28_Netherlands.pdf