scholarly journals Contesting the Social Contract

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-100
Author(s):  
Robin Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Tax Reform ◽  
Business Owners ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fiscal Regimes ◽  
State Agents ◽  
Vat Reform ◽  
The Way ◽  
Economic Agency

This article investigates how Istrian business owners challenged the Croatian government’s motivation for and enforcement of fiskalizacija, an automated VAT reform adopted in 2013 as Croatia prepared for EU membership. Fiskalizacija threatened local economic agency and sowed distrust in government. The analysis of this tax reform demonstrates how Istrians envisage their economic agency, rights, and responsibilities. I argue that it is not just the construction of fiscal systems, but how such a system is projected onto society that is fundamental to the development of state-society relations. The way in which a tax reform is put into effect, including the enforcement practices of state agents, shapes how citizens perceive the social contract to be constituted by fiscal regimes.

Endless Patience: Explaining Soviet and Post-Soviet Social Stability

1998 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Ashwin
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Social Organisation ◽  
Alternative View ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Stalin Era ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Way

Various arguments have been put forward to explain the social stability of the post-Stalin era, in particular theories of a “social contract”, “incorporation” or “atomisation”. This article argues that all these theories have been cast into serious doubt by the response of workers to the reforms of the post-communist era and proposes an alternative view of the integration of workers which centres on the social organisation of the traditional Soviet enterprise. It goes on to show the way in which the form of workers' relation to the labour collective has structured their behaviour during the transition era.

The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History, 1800-2000

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Political History ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Methodological Innovation ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Way

The two centuries after 1800 witnessed a series of sweeping changes in the way in which Britain was governed, the duties of the state, and its role in the wider world. Powerful processes—from the development of democracy to the changing nature of the social contract, war, and economic dislocation—have challenged, and at times threatened to overwhelm, both governors and governed. Such shifts have also posed problems for the historians who have researched and written about Britain’s past politics. This volume shows the ways in which political historians have responded, and provides a snapshot of a field which has long been at the forefront of conceptual and methodological innovation within historical studies. It comprises thirty-three thematic essays written by leading and emerging scholars in the field. Collectively, these essays assess and rethink the nature of modern British political history itself, and suggest avenues and questions for future research. The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History thus provides a unique resource for those who wish to understand Britain’s political past and a thought-provoking ‘long view’ for those interested in current political challenges.

scholarly journals Rousseau e o espetáculo do paradoxo

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Sérgio Santos Da Silva ◽  
Marcio Danelon
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Critical Reception ◽  
Or Education ◽  
The Social ◽  
Politics And Education ◽  
Keywords Education ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
E Mail ◽  
The Way

*Doutorando em Educação pela Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU). E-mail: [email protected]. * Doutor em Filosofia da Educação pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) e professor da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU).  E-mail: [email protected]. Rousseau e o espetáculo do paradoxo Resumo: O presente estudo discute a relação entre política e educação na obra de Jean-Jacques Rousseau a partir de autores que constituem a recepção crítica da obra do filósofo. A propósito, apresenta elementos da vida e da obra do autor genebrino. Expõe eixos fundamentais da ideia de contratualismo ou jusnaturalismo. Discorre acerca das teses de Rousseau atinentes à confluência entre Do Contrato Social (reflexão política) e o Emílio ou da Educação (reflexão educacional). Exibe a ideia de paradoxo da liberdade presente na teoria política de Rousseau. Aponta para os desdobramentos deste paradoxo na reflexão educacional do autor, especialmente nos dois primeiros livros do Emílio, pelo princípio de educação negativa. Palavras-chave: Educação. Liberdade. Paradoxo. Política. Rousseau. Rousseau and the paradox of the spectacle Abstract: The present study discusses the relationship between politics and education in the Jean-Jacques Rousseau’work from authors who constitute the critical reception of this philosopher's work. By the way, show elements of the life and work of the Genevan author. It exposes fundamental axes of the idea of contractualism or jusnaturalism. It discusses Rousseau's theses concerning the confluence between The Social Contract (political reflection) and Emílio or Education (educational reflection). It shows the idea of the paradox of freedom present in Rousseau's political theory. It points to the unfolding of this paradox in the educational reflection of this author, especially in the first two books of the Emílio, by the  negative education’principle. Keywords: Education. Freedom. Paradox. Politics. Rousseau.

How to Read Hobbes? A Reply to Matthew Kramer

1995 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-361
Author(s):  
Stuart Toddington
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Ad Hominem ◽  
The Social ◽  
Reductio Ad Absurdum ◽  
Fatal Attack ◽  
The Way

I want to say something about Hobbes by way of a response to Matthew Kramer in his article, “The Missing Terms of the Hobbesian Social Contract”. Briefly, Kramer argues that Hobbes’ idea of the social contract is incoherent in that the linguistic and experiential conditions and capacities which could give rise to such a contract are such that an effective contract would already have to be in place. This reductio ad absurdum of Hobbes’ argument has some illuminating consequences: one is that this apparently fatal attack on the coherence of the Hobbesian contract should disturb us enough to reconsider the way in which we read Hobbes and other Social Contract theorists, rather than simply accepting the ad hominem force of Kramer’s interpretation of Hobbes.

A Comment on: “ State Capacity, Reciprocity, and the Social Contract” by Timothy Besley

Econometrica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 1337-1343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Bowles
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
The State ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Modeling Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
Historical Fact ◽  
The Way

Treating civic preferences as endogenous and government policies and tax capacities as both an influence on and a consequence of their evolution is an important new strand of thinking to which Besley has contributed. I ask: Does his model provide a convincing explanation of the way that civic cultures and the expansion of the state evolved as a matter of historical fact? And I suggest a number of alternative modeling approaches that both would recognize that policy makers take account of the effects of their policy choices on preferences and, consistent with empirical observations, would support equilibria with culturally heterogeneous rather than homogeneous populations.

Motherhood in France: Towards a Queer Maternity?

Paragraph ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Power
Keyword(s):  
Queer Theory ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
The State ◽  
Symbolic Order ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Maternal Status ◽  
The Way

This article examines the relationship between feminism, queer theory and the rise of popular debate over maternity and anti-maternity that has arisen in recent years in France. Through the image of ‘queer maternity’, that is to say, of women who question motherhood from the position of already having had children, the article tries to rethink the way in which feminism, queer theory and motherhood could be placed in relation to one another such that by questioning maternity, the symbolic order that places motherhood on the side of the state and futurity can itself be questioned as a whole. This has particular resonances in the French context where a discourse of ‘natural’ motherhood has come to dominate: the ‘queer’ mother who questions her maternal status is thus argued to represent a threat to the futurity of the family, the social contract and the existing order.

scholarly journals A pedagogia política de Rousseau

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (222) ◽  
Author(s):  
Neiva Oliveira ◽  
Gomercindo Ghiggi ◽  
Avelino da Rosa Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
General Will ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Way

O trabalho tem dois eixos articulados entre si: primeiro, apresenta Emílio e Do Contrato Social como obras pedagógicas de Rousseau; em seguida, mostra a utilização que o autor faz dos conceitos experiência, liberdade e vontade geral, enquanto categorias que dão sustentação a esta pedagogia política. Na primeira linha de reflexão, afirma-se que o próprio fato do Contrato Social estar contido no Emílio indica a vontade instrutora do autor de ensinar as regras básicas para que o cidadão insira-se na sociedade. O Contrato Social visa instruir: Rousseau instrui-se através dele, instrui também Emílio e todo cidadão. A questão pedagógica por excelência é a explicitação da natureza do poder político. No segundo eixo temático, afirma-se que há em Rousseau uma intencionalidade educativa onde a relação entre liberdade e autoridade é uma das tensões que ocorre. Da concepção de natureza humana exposta em sua exterioridade, Rousseau extrai o critério de construção do essencial no humano, o que tem valor permanente e substantivo, que é necessário. Nesta perspectiva de formação e educação há um elemento que se destaca, sem o qual o homem perde a dimensão que o distingue: a liberdade, não ilimitada, mas regulada pela necessidade, pela autoridade da vontade geral. Palavras-chave: Rousseau; pedagogia política; liberdade; necessidade; vontade geral Abstract The paper encompasses two paths of argumentation. First, it brings forward both Rousseau’s Emile and The Social Contract as educational works; next, it shows the way the author makes use of concepts such as experience, freedom and general will as categories that provide support to his political pedagogy. In the first argumentative path, it is stated that the very fact that The Social Contract is contained inside Emile indicates the author’s will of teaching the basic rules for a citizen to join society. The Social Contract aims at instructing: through it, Rousseau instructs himself, as well as he instructs Emile, and every citizen. The pedagogical question by excellence is the explanation of the political power. In the second argumentative path, it is stated that there is in Rousseau an educational intentionality in which takes place a tension between freedom and authority. Rousseau brings out from the concept of human nature the criterion for the construction of what is essential in human beings, of what has lasting and substantial worth, of what is necessary. In such a perspective of formation and education, it is freedom that is uplifted, and without it, man loses what makes him different from other beings. But it is not unlimited freedom that distinguishes man; instead, it is freedom ruled by necessity, in other words, by the authority of general will. Keywords: Rousseau; political pedagogy; freedom; necessity; general will

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