Feminist Critics of Hobbes and Rousseau Impact in the Theory of Social Contract

Abstract

Despite the big popularity of Hobbes and Rousseau impact in the theory of social contract, their point of views can be named as patriarchal. According to Hobbes the agreement is the contract between the winner and the defeated. In a state of "war of all against all" females were free, the institution of marriage did not exist. Children belonged to women and only maternal rights existed. By the time of the social contract, all women had been defeated by force, became servants, and they did not participate in the conclusion of a social agreement. Matrimonial law is the result of politics and political violence. Locke considers females as individuals. The marriage community is formed by a voluntary agreement between man and woman. However husband and wife still think differently, so they will inevitably sometimes show different wills; because the final decision is necessary, so man as more capable and stronger should have leadership. The theory of social contract tried to find ways to justify the subordinate position of females in politics. A woman is created in order to be subordinate. Thus the paradoxical nature of patriarchal philosophy, oriented on the subject of only one sex, has created a movement for the emancipation of women. According to feminist philosophical approach, a woman is the important creator of the innovative product which combines several innovative successful ideas, which are realized in the form of a new invention, for which a patent is a need and which can be applied for mass production.