social contract

noun

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of social contract

: an actual or hypothetical agreement among the members of an organized society or between a community and its ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each

Recent Examples of social contract from the Web

Which is why there’s a lot to learn from the adult film world, where performers are arguably the most adept at navigating sex’s social contract.

— rae witte, GQ, "What We Can Learn About Consent from the Porn World," 29 Mar. 2018
And in developing that social contract, the relationship deepens its bonds.

— rachel raczka, chicagotribune.com, "Why are we so obsessed with having couple friends?," 17 Mar. 2018
Read the memo on the need for a new social contract here and the memo outlining their 12 ideas here.

— james hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Third Way makes an opening bid in the 2020 ‘ideas primary’," 15 Mar. 2018
Arming teachers or average citizens forces them to sign the same social contract — protect society or die trying.

— alex kingsbury, BostonGlobe.com, "The lesson of the ‘Broward Coward’," 23 Feb. 2018
Drug addiction and suicide are soaring, locals say, as the social contract strains.

— max fisher, amanda taub and dalia martÍnez, New York Times, "Losing Faith in the State, Some Mexican Towns Quietly Break Away," 7 Jan. 2018
These three very different movies depict the human condition at its loneliest, and in this deeply alienated time when the social contract is unraveling, that constitutes a historically urgent statement as well.

— steve erickson, Los Angeles Magazine, "As the Oscars Approach, These 3 Movies Rise Above the Rest," 27 Feb. 2018
That means one of two things have to happen: radical changes to the social contract, or sweeping new taxes to finance the existing arrangements.

— jay cost, National Review, "Good Riddance to IPAB, the Independent Payment Advisory Board," 12 Feb. 2018
Its social contract is weaker than in other countries—those in need have less access to social services, healthcare, or the prevention and treatment of mental illness and addiction.

— amanda macmillan, Time, "Drugs, Alcohol and Suicide Are Causing Life Expectancy in America to Drop Dramatically," 8 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'social contract.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of social contract

1660

Law Dictionary

social contract

noun so·cial contract

legal Definition of social contract

: an actual or hypothetical agreement among individuals forming an organized society or between the community and the ruler that defines and limits the rights and duties of each