My hypothesis is that social contract theory does not satisfactorily explain why we owe a serious concern or respect to profoundly mentally disabled individuals (PMD). This is a problem for social contract theories if we assume, like I do in this dissertation, that the PMD possess a robust moral status (RMS). My dissertation will explore the main strategies deployed by contractarian and contractualist theorists to bring the PMD within the purview of the social contract, in order to clarify why some aspects of their claims are promising but why they nonetheless fail to fully explain the robust moral status of the PMD. I notably find that they leave morally important dimensions of human relations out of the contractual frame, which means that they exclude the PMD from the scope of justice and morality when they claim that this contractual frame offers the only valid explanation to be a subject of justice and a moral patient. I do not conclude that this requires us to reject social contract theory altogether, nor do I count it as a reason to question whether the PMD have a robust moral status. In my concluding chapter, I will rather suggest a theoretical frame that has the potential of incorporating both contractual and non-contractual relations within the spheres of morality and justice, because both kinds of relation vehicle important intuitions about what is of value in human life. This dissertation will contribute to orientate future research on the moral and political grounds for the rights of profoundly mentally disabled people, as well as question or curtail the breadth of certain key assumptions of social contract theories.

Contemporary Social Contract Theories The thesis is intended to be an introduction into contemporary social contract theories. John Rawls' book A Theory of Justice is a seminal work in this field. The thesis, however, does focus not only on the approach adopted by Rawls, but on the theories of other authors as well - that of J. Buchanan, D. Gauthier, T. Scanlon and R. Nozick. These remain quite unknown in the Czech context. The structure of the thesis should allow for a comparison between the respective theories as the author starts with the object of the social contract, proceeds to the parties of the contract and, finally, to its content. Special attention is devoted to the game theory which models some of the typical interpersonal interactions and, using its theoretical apparatus, can illustrate problems of social cooperation - the key theme of virtually all social contract theories. Eventually, the author tries to outline the way analytic philosophy views the social contract. In its eyes, the social contract is a necessary implication of the existence of language.

O diálogo Críton de Platão é uma excelente demonstração da conduta filosófica de Sócrates, num momento decisivo de sua vida, em que preso recebe a proposta de Críton para a fuga da cidade, e, portanto, pôr-se a salvo da execução final: a morte pela cicuta. Sócrates, com a serenidade de sempre, põe-se a argumentar com o amigo sobre a pertinência de aceitar o seu pedido de fuga, propondo-lhe uma reflexão da sua proposta e das conseqüências decorrentes no caso de aceitá-la. Nesse exame, Sócrates defende princípios essenciais de sua filosofia e de sua própria história de vida, uma vez que elas não se separam, constantes na sua ética: nunca pagar o mal com o mal, pois isso seria cometer uma injustiça, algo impensável para uma alma filosófica que anseia o caminho do bem e o contato com o divino; na sua missão divina: de nada aceitar de pronto sem que se faça uma investigação de sua pertinência, portanto, procurando saber se aquilo que se diz corresponde à verdade ou à aparência, neste caso, um pré-conceito aceito sem a devida análise; na sua idéia política: Sócrates, cidadão ateniense, com aproximadamente 70 anos de idade, sempre aceitou as leis da cidade que regem o nascimento, a alimentação, a educação, o casamento, a criação dos filhos, o jogo da cidadania que permite a participação política nas Assembléias a todos os cidadãos, podendo-lhes propor leis, discuti-las e votá-las para que façam parte da Constituição da cidade de Atenas. Nesse princípio de cidadania, cabe ao cidadão que não se agrade por determinada lei, em vez de afrontá-la, rompendo um pacto, acordo, tratado, firmado com as Leis da cidade, portanto, cometendo uma injustiça, persuadi-las para que ela seja alterada. Sócrates, fiel a esse compromisso aceito durante a sua trajetória de vida, não pode, em aceitando a fuga, ferir as Leis da cidade, colocando em risco o contrato social estabelecido pelos cidadãos, pois a sua afronta é o mesmo que causar uma doença à cidade. O filósofo ateniense aceita a sua execução, não como vítima das Leis, mas do mau julgamento realizado pelos homens, porque esse é o caminho que lhe aponta a divindade. Acima das leis humanas, que devem ser respeitadas, existem as leis venerandas divinas, que julgarão os atos humanos. / Plato Criton dialogue is an excellent demonstration of Socrates\' philosophical conduct, his life decisive moment, when arrested it receives Critons proposal to leave the city, therefore, being safe of the final execution: hemlock death. Socrates, serenity as always, begins a discussion with a friend in accepting his escape request, proposing to reflect under his proposal and the current consequences in the case of accepting it. In that exam, Socrates defends essential his philosophy and life history principles, in constant ethics: never paying back evil for evil, because it would be an injustice, something unthinkable for a philosophical soul that goes on the good road and the divine contact; in his divine mission: not accepting nothing promptly without a pertinent investigation, therefore, trying to discover if it corresponds to the truth or the appearance, in this case, accepting a pre-concept with no analysis; on its political idea: Socrates, Athenian citizen, about 70 years old, he always accepted the city laws that govern birth, feeding, education, marriage, and children\'s creation, the citizenship game that allows political participation in the Assemblies for all the citizens, it could propose them laws, discussing it to vote it in order to be part in the Athens Constitution. In that citizenships principle, the citizen that dislikes such law, instead of confronting it, breaking a pact, negotiation, agreement, in city Laws, therefore, making an injustice, persuading it to be altered. Socrates, loyal to that commitment during his life path, it is not possible in accepting the escape, to hurt the city Laws, letting in social contract established by the citizens in risk, because its insult may cause a disease in city. The Athenian philosopher accepts its execution, not as the Laws victim, but by men badly judgment, because it is the divinity way. Above human laws, that must be respected, the divine laws exist, that will judge human acts.

O objetivo deste trabalho é conduzir um estudo sobre o tema da legitimidade do Estado civil no Contrato Social de Jean-Jacques Rousseau, por meio da análise da construção e do desenvolvimento de sua teoria política, bem como dos principais conceitos a ela inerentes. / The objective of this work is to focus the theme of legitimacy of the civil State on Jean-Jacques Rousseau´s Social Contract, analyzing the construction and development of his political theory, as well as his most important concepts related with it.

A proposta da tese é explorar como a interação entre abertura política, redemocratização e mudança no contrato social contribuíram para o aumento do tamanho do governo e do gasto no Brasil. Dessa forma, a tese sugere a persistência de um padrão de política fiscal que prevaleceu após a Constituição Federal de 1988, encontrado no governo central e nos governos subnacionais, cujo padrão é formado por: i) pressão pelo aumento do tamanho do governo; ii) crescimento da despesa corrente em relação ao investimento; iii) comportamento pró-cíclico do gasto e presença do efeito voracidade. A hipótese explorada na tese é que o padrão de política fiscal possui como origem o equilíbrio que emergiu com a abertura política e a redemocratização na década de 1980, onde foram incorporadas as demandas por bens públicos (educação, saúde, proteção social, por exemplo) e a maior ênfase pelas políticas redistributivas, oriundas do aprofundamento da democracia e da presença do sufrágio universal. Ao mesmo tempo, o equilíbrio sugere a necessidade de acomodar os grupos de interesse (elites empresariais e do funcionalismo público, por exemplo) que aparelham o estado e buscam defender e ampliar seus privilégios, especialmente em relação aos benefícios tributários, acesso aos recursos orçamentários e prioridade no direcionamento do gasto do governo. Assim, a viabilidade do equilíbrio depende do crescimento do tamanho do governo que serve para minimizar os conflitos entre grupos de interesse, também preservar a paz social e a estabilidade política. No entanto, o equilíbrio contribui para fortalecer a percepção de ilusão fiscal sobre as limitações e as restrições de curto e longo prazo que a política fiscal está submetida, eclipsando como são distribuídos os custos e os benefícios das ações do governo. A contribuição da tese é aprofundar a discussão sobre como o funcionamento de uma democracia iliberal (nova democracia ou democracia não consolidada) e a alteração no contrato social em um ambiente de instituições frágeis são capazes de influir sobre o tamanho do governo e o comportamento do gasto no curto e longo prazo. Além disso, a tese busca explorar quais seriam os problemas fiscais, as potenciais fragilidades, os canais e mecanismos de transmissão que relacionam uma democracia não consolidada e os problemas fiscais, tomando como estudo de caso a experiência brasileira. / The main objective of this thesis is to explore the interaction between the democratization process and change of social contract on government size and public spending in Brazil. The hypothesis of the thesis is the persistence of a fiscal policy pattern, present in both central government and subnational governments, composed of the following characteristics: i) increased pressure for increasing government size; ii) growth of current expenditure in relation to investment; and iii) procyclical and voracity effect. This fiscal policy pattern has its origin in the democratization process in the 1980s, with demands of society for public goods (education, health, social security, for example) and redistribution policies, stemming from the deepening of democracy and the presence of universal suffrage. Alongside, the emerging equilibrium suggests the need to accommodate interest groups (business elites and civil servant, for example) that equip the state and seek to defend and expand their privileges, especially in relation to tax benefits, access to budgetary resources and defense of priority in spending. So, the viability of this balance depends on the growth of government size that serves to minimize conflicts between interest groups, also preserving social and politics stability. However, the equilibrium contributes to strengthening the fiscal illusion about the short and long-term limitation of the budget and fiscal policy. The contribution of the thesis is to deepen the discussion about how the functioning of an illiberal democracy (or new democracy) and the change in the social contract in an environment of weak institutions can influence government size and the behavior of spending in the short and long term. In addition, the thesis seeks to explore what the fiscal problems, potential weaknesses and channels of transmission that relate to illiberal democracy and fiscal problems are, taking Brazil as a case study.

Recent literature in various practical fields calls for a 'relational approach' to social justice, as a theoretical alternative that transcends limitations with liberal contractarianism to offer more penetrating analysis of social justice. I critically engage literature from radical intellectual-political traditions such as Marxism, feminism, and critical race theory to propose what can - and can't - form the basis of a cogent relational critique of liberalism and an alternative positive account. I hone this through dialogue with Rawlsian 'justice as fairness', as well as more recent developments such as relational egalitarianism. The most distinguishing feature of a relational approach is ontological: its social-theoretic account of injustice comprises supra-individual phenomena - relations, social groups, structure, historical causality - as opposed to individual locations hosting portions of a distribuend. Moreover, I define an intermediate position in the ideal vs non-ideal theory debate, arguing that a persuasive relational approach would 'start from injustice'; it would identify the primary desideratum incumbent on social justice theory as being that it enhances understanding of real injustice and thereby informs counteraction. One upshot is a closer relationship between political philosophy and social theory; in turn this reflects how a relational approach to social justice can enjoy symbiosis with the broader 'relational turn' in humanities and social sciences. The argument is furthered through exemplificatory reference to the empirical context of Brazil's post-redemocratisation experimentation with participatory democracy in the social assistance sector, as an aspect of the country's putative 'new social contract'.

<p>The purpose of this essay has been to compare different constitutions, and their outlook on citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty. This has been done in the light of the political philosophy, in order to give the answer to four questions. These questions are: Which rights and obligations can be seen in the constitutions, and how can it be interpreted. Can there be signs of any political philosophy in the constitutions?  Are there any differences between the constitutions regarding citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty? If so, what are the differences? Can the rights be seen in a further extent than the obligations in the constitutions?</p><p>I have conducted a qualitative comparision study and analyzed the political philosophers and made a classification scheme of their views. Further I made a comparison between the constitutions of the countries, and their view on citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty. This was later inflicted in to the classification scheme, to see if the countries could fit in to the political philosophers views, and also to find out if there would be any differences in values between the countries constitutions.</p><p>To bind together the outlook on citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty between the citizen and the state, I have used a social contract theory, to get better understanding regarding the relationship between the legal system and the citizen.</p><p>My conclusions of this essay is that the political philosophers views of citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty was sometimes similar, but the differences were clear in the light of the classification scheme. The countries constitutions were also similar, but I found that the constitutions could fit in different places in the classification scheme, giving the result that citizenship and rights, were important in all of the constitutions, but obligations and natural duty was not.</p>

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Abstract The purpose of our thesis was to comprehend how organizations approach the Corporate Social Contract that exists between them and society. The empirical data was gathered to reflect a comprehension of the Corporate Social Contract as a whole and as the product of its components, i.e.: Corporate Social Responsibility and Reciprocity. Other concepts interconnected with our main topic were also used in order to better comprehend the concept of Corporate Social Contract as well as our interpretations of the collected empirical data. These interconnected concepts were Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, Shared Value, and Willingness to Pay.   The research work was approached from the qualitative standpoint. Considering that the perspective of our thesis was an organizational one, we approached 5 organizations within which to conduct interviews on the stated topic. Our aim was merely to understand the organizational perspective and approach to the concept of Corporate Social Contract, not to compare these perspectives and approaches.   Each of the chosen organizations met certain basic criteria mentioned in our work that permitted us to include them in our sample. The thesis’ conclusion reflected various organizational approaches towards Corporate Social Contract from the angle of Corporate Social Responsibility as well as varying perspectives on, and expectations of, society’s reciprocity. The study has shown that our view of the equal importance of the concepts of CSR and Reciprocity, within the framework of CSC fulfillment, is an under investigated area in both academics and in the practical business world. This has also been supported by our interviewees’ view on expectations, placed on society, as an implicit area in their organizations’ policies. Through our study we have uncovered practical reasons as to why CSC cannot be fulfilled all the time, how expectations between both organizations and society differ from project to project, and the importance of societal reciprocity in the aim of CSC fulfillment. And thus, through our study, we endeavor to comprehend how organizations fulfill the CSC and how they view society’s attempts to fulfill its end of the contract.   As a result of our work, future students and researchers stand to gain insights into the mentalities of organizations that hail from different industries and are based in different parts of the world. Future students and researchers could also derive their own interpretations of our respondents words based on the culture prevalent in the country in which the respondents are based. Apart from this, one can note that the respondents were also from a range of departments and their professionally skewed perspective on our topic makes for an interesting contribution to those seeking insights into our topic and those interlinked.   Key Words: Corporate Social Contract, Corporate Social Responsibility, Reciprocity, Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, Shared Value, and Willingness to Pay.

With the extant work on civil war duration as a starting point, this project uses the Ugandan case to identify and address theoretical aporias in our existing understanding of the determinants of duration. The vast majority of existing work begins with the assumption that the rebel force is the determining factor in the duration of conflict. Challenging this assumption, I argue that civil war duration should be understood as a function of the calculations made by both the rebel units and the established state, a dynamic that has implications for the way in which we think of the preferences of the state. Finally, that incentive structures exist, given the nature of post-colonial states that lower the utility of peace for elected leadership and reduce their willingness to provide peace as a collective good to the broader population as civil war can be used as one of Jeffrey Herbst’s buffer mechanisms.