Social Contract Theory: This theory proposes that individuals willingly give up certain freedoms in exchange for protection and benefits provided by a governing authority.
Enlightenment: An intellectual movement during the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized reason, science, individualism, and skepticism towards traditional institutions.
Natural Rights: The idea that individuals possess certain unalienable rights (such as life, liberty, and property) which cannot be taken away or infringed upon by any government.