The major topics in this week are the concept of a social contract, historical influences on the continued redefinition of the social contract, and the elements of the future social contract. A social contract is an actual or hypothetical compact or agreement between the ruled and their rulers. It defining the rights and duties of each. For example, it is an agreement among individual people in a society or between the people and their government that outlines the rights and duties of each party. However, it wasn't always this way.
Nowadays, the concept of a social contract has moved from the exceptional to the expected. Unlike the old days, only very few things and profits are regulated and included as a social contract. Before World War II, the Union Nations did not even exist. Not to mention today's human right related organizations around the world. But, it's never too late to do the right thing. Moves like a turtle do not mean you are absolutely going to lose.
There is a question I was trying to figure out. Jeff Bezos once said, "Cleverness is a gift, Kindness is choice". Normally, people are free to choose they want to be good or bad and responsible for the consequences. But for companies, they are a group of people, and their consequences can be huge or even destroy the planet. For example, if you are a military contractor, you may have tons of weapons on hand. Many people contribute their cleverness to a company and share the consequences. However, their leaders, owners, or shareholders make the decisions of the whole group. So, what if cleverness is the gift of a group, but kindness is not their choice? What if their leaders choose to be bad citizens? A knife on hand does not mean you are a bad guy, you can be either a Masterchef or a murderer. But I think a social contract should avoid everyone making the latter choice.
While human rights and freedom are gaining value nowadays, does a social contract is limiting our choices and freedom? Let's go back to the basic concept of a social contract. It defining the rights and duties. Freedom is everyone's right, but violence is not. Because it violence the previous rule, "freedom is everyone's right". It is a complicated concept and the definition of freedom is also varies in different countries. Therefore, having a common goal is a great way to solve this kind of divergence. For example, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals or the 2030 zero-emission goal are both great ways to share and understand the concept of a social contract.
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