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Critically examines the social contract, one of the most common topics & paradigms of both modern social theory & legal & political philosophy. The classical theories of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan & John Locke's Two Concepts of Power, along with contributions by other seventeenth- & eighteenth-century thinkers, are reviewed, revealing their strong impact on natural law theory & positivistic legal philosophy. A shift can be seen in the movement of natural law principles away from a rational, universal, & "eternally valid" character toward principles stemming from the actual life of real communities. Highlights of social contract theory within the development of actual political & social structures of Europe over the past three centuries are recounted. Special attention is given to recent contributions, eg, John Rawls's A Theory of Justice (1971) & Richard Rorty's Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989). 28 References. Adapted from the source document.