Part 2/10:
The notion of the social contract was first rigorously articulated by 16th and 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes. In his work Leviathan, Hobbes described a "state of nature" where life was brutish and chaotic, leading to the necessity of a strong governing authority. According to Hobbes, people must collectively sacrifice certain freedoms for the greater good—namely, safety and order. In contemporary politics, autocrats create their own versions of this contract to retain their grip on power, often promising stability, economic security, or basic rights, while demanding political complacency in return.