The Evolution of Social Contract Theory: How a Theory of Liberty Turned into a Threat to Liberty

In this article, Joshua Mawhorter of https://mises.org/ argues that social contract theory evolved from its original intention to limit the power of civil government into an apologetic to justify the expanding and unquestioned political authority of the state.

Here's the concluding paragraph taken from the article:

The tragedy of social contract theory is that, by trying to make the state compatible with human freedom, it ended up making human freedom, rights, and consent seem dependent on the state. Rather than limiting power, it provided power with its most sophisticated justification. Rather than protecting individual rights, it subordinated them to collective decisions reached through political processes. Rather than appealing to God for governmental legitimacy as in the divine right of kings, social contract theory made every citizen a co-author of their own subjection.

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