How is the idea of a social contract related to natural rights?

(1 point)
• A social contract preserves natural rights by returning society to a state of nature.
• A social contract protects people's natural rights by having citizens give up some individual freedoms.
• A social contract takes away people's natural rights by eliminating all individual freedoms.
A social contract codifies natural rights into law by making it part of the Constitution.

1 answer

The most accurate relationship between the idea of a social contract and natural rights is:

A social contract protects people's natural rights by having citizens give up some individual freedoms.

This idea, primarily associated with philosophers like John Locke, suggests that individuals consent to form a society and accept certain limitations on their freedoms in exchange for the protection of their natural rights (such as life, liberty, and property).