The Laughing Wolf

A Heavy Compact Thing

In the post “What Is Society, Papa?” I began a basic discussion of society. At its most basic, society is nothing more than an agreement between individuals. American Society is simply this writ large.

Such an agreement brings with it a host of complications and expectations. People expect different things, and as with any negotiations, compromise is required. The result of such discussions and compromises is commonly referred to as the Social Compact.

This concept is often defined as meaning that a group of individuals have agreed to work together for mutual benefit, and that in the course of same each has given up something as part of that contribution. Most often, this is some form or degree of freedom.

When one does enter into a societal compact, you do indeed give up ultimate freedom. As a general rule, you agree to give up murder, rape, robbery, arson, and other acts that diminish the greater good. In fact, while the concept of greater good is what is most often taught, that is an artificial construct that has no realistic basis.

What truly happens is that each individual is assured that their life and their property will be safe from everyone else. As a participant in the contract, you agree to give up ultimate freedom in order to maintain the safety of your own property – your body and other physical possessions – and guarantee the safety of the property of others in the compact. The result is the intangible concept known as the greater good.

The reality is, however, that as an individual you truly have not given up ultimate freedom. You do have the right to decide not to abide by the terms of the compact, either by withdrawing from the community or by taking actions against the compact while in said community.

As with freedom of speech, you are not free of the consequences of your actions. If you choose to leave, you must bear the responsibility for moving, establishing a new home, starting or taking part in a new social contract, and for every action you take. If you stay, there will be consequences from your actions. You will have to pay some form of restitution for the damage to the property you have damaged or destroyed by your actions.

As with society, social compacts are easiest to deal with on the smaller scale. In small groups, be it a village, clan, or some similar structure, it is easy to define and adhere to either a tacit or formalized agreement. Because of the small size, such agreements tend to be rather basic.

As the size of the group grows, however, it becomes harder and harder to keep things simple. There will always be those who want to add in additions, to codify each and every possible action and reaction. In large societies, social compacts tend to loose meaning simply because agreement is lost between all parties on what makes up said compact. Unless a deliberate effort is made to keep it simple and keep it from being undermined, the concept can and will be lost.

There is one other way in which it can and will be lost: the loss of trust. When the common areas of understanding between different individuals are eliminated, for whatever reason, so too is lost communications and trust. When the individual members of a society see others break the compact with impunity, trust dies.

When we bury trust, and loose the heart of the compact – the idea that individuals can agree on certain basic things – then compact is shattered, and society begins to decay.

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