ABSTRACT
A paradoxical fate for a theory is that it should be abandoned as a doctrine about the past or an explanation of the present, only to re-emerge as a practical proposal for the future. Organizations such as the League of Nations and the United Nations have been set up, and have received the clear support of many who would consider a serious analysis of the classical theory a waste of time. The neglect of the social contract theory appears particularly curious if one looks at one of the theory’s unique features — its consistency with two sets of values: individualism and social order. The conflict in values which the social contract theory was intended to solve has also been dismissed in effect by democratic society, which has reduced individualism to a set of ‘rights’ upheld by a constitution.
