 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
The theory that government was created by a contract is, of course, pre-evolutionary. Government, like measles and whooping cough, must have grown up gradually, though, like them, it could be introduced suddenly into new regions such as the South Sea Islands. Before men had studied anthropology they had no idea of the psychological mechanisms involved in the beginnings of government, or of the fantastic reasons which lead men to adopt institutions and customs that subsequently proved useful. But as a legal fiction, to justify government, the theory of the social contract has some measure of truth.
Source: A History of Western Philosophy, 1945, chapter XIII: Lock's Political Philosophy _ C: The social contract theory, p.611
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/HWP_1945.pdf