social contract
noun
: 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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web These unprecedented waves of unionizing suggest that the social contract underlying our economy is up for renewal, and wage workers want and deserve more. 
Frank Shyongcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2022 The social contract between Russian artists and the government has existed for years. Washington Post, 3 May 2022 But the implications for China’s social contract could be even more profound. Eyck Freymann, WSJ, 28 Apr. 2022 Inspired by the Denver Principles, our team met weekly over the course of several months to map out our own social contract with professionals and organizations focused on ALS. Irene Shapiro, STAT, 28 July 2022 Bread, which Egyptians call A’ish—Arabic for life—is part of a social contract in Egypt with the government providing affordable food, gasoline and electricity. Chao Deng, WSJ, 23 May 2022 Most people still believe in some form of protection, whether via the social contract, community, or an elusive greater good, even as the pandemic exposed their fragility. Hannah Zeavin, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 In his view, all states, far from being derived from some social contract, arise as protection rackets and largely remain so. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 For most of American history, courts treated the protection of health as an important aspect of the social contract, one that is implicitly woven into our laws. Wendy E. Parmet, Scientific American, 17 May 2022 See More
Frank Shyongcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2022 The social contract between Russian artists and the government has existed for years. Washington Post, 3 May 2022 But the implications for China’s social contract could be even more profound. Eyck Freymann, WSJ, 28 Apr. 2022 Inspired by the Denver Principles, our team met weekly over the course of several months to map out our own social contract with professionals and organizations focused on ALS. Irene Shapiro, STAT, 28 July 2022 Bread, which Egyptians call A’ish—Arabic for life—is part of a social contract in Egypt with the government providing affordable food, gasoline and electricity. Chao Deng, WSJ, 23 May 2022 Most people still believe in some form of protection, whether via the social contract, community, or an elusive greater good, even as the pandemic exposed their fragility. Hannah Zeavin, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 In his view, all states, far from being derived from some social contract, arise as protection rackets and largely remain so. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 For most of American history, courts treated the protection of health as an important aspect of the social contract, one that is implicitly woven into our laws. Wendy E. Parmet, Scientific American, 17 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1660, in the meaning defined above
Legal Definition
social contract
noun
so·cial 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