Freedom & Equality: The Social Compact Explained #shorts

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]The basic idea is all men are born free in the sense that everybody who is part of a government ought to have given that person his or her consent to be part of that government.

[00:00:12]Equality then can be understood to be a moral claim in two ways.

[00:00:16]One is it's about the moral rights and obligations of human beings to each other.

[00:00:22]And as I said just now the basic right to liberty and all the other rights that follow from it.

[00:00:27]And the other is a claim about the right to rule who has the right to rule born equally free and independent.

[00:00:33]Uh means not born into a slave relationship or subordinate relationship. And from then on you are free you are free of everything unless it's the laws that you've given your consent to obey.

[00:00:46]And it's that consent it's that giving of consent collectively that is what creates a nation creates a people that is then to be governed by a particular form of government.

[00:00:59]Uh founders use the term social compact to mean the agreement we all make with each other fellow citizens make with each other to form a government and to accept the rules made by that government.

[00:01:13]And once you're in the social compact you then become an exclusive body apart from the rest of humanity and they the government you're creating is for you you your fellow citizens and protection of you and your rights. It's only for the not for the protection of the rest of mankind and their rights.

[00:01:34]So what does it mean to be free and equal in a daily day-to-day situation? I like to use the example of a job. When you apply for a job you are saying to the employer I have something valuable to offer you my labor and if you offer me something valuable let's say pay a salary we'll make an agreement and the agreement is an agreement between equals. I agree to be ruled by you in so far as I'm employed by you.

[00:02:07]You agree to pay me.

[00:02:09]And it's a relationship of subordination.

[00:02:12]It's not a relationship of permanent subordination. That would be slavery.

[00:02:16]It's a an employment contract always has limits uh beyond which the employer is not allowed to go in order to protect the life, liberty, and property of the employee. But that's one example, a simple example of how equality works in practical life and day-to-day life.