A social contract is an implicit agreement among members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, such as sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection. One classic example is the social contract theory proposed by philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
For instance, consider Hobbes' perspective in "Leviathan." He argued that in the absence of a societal structure, life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" due to the constant state of conflict. To avoid this chaos, individuals would agree to surrender some of their freedoms to a sovereign authority in exchange for peace and security. In this way, the social contract serves as the foundation for the establishment of government and laws that protect individuals and maintain social order.
In contemporary society, the concept can be seen in democratic systems where citizens agree to abide by laws and regulations in exchange for the protection of their rights and well-being by the government.