The idea of a “Social Contract” is often tossed around by people in the media or in education. One might hear it cited by a teacher advocating democracy and attempting to be clever. They will say that by living in a society we are signing a contract to live by its laws. The Social Contract can be summed up as such:

The heart of the idea of the social contract may be stated simply: Each of us places his person and authority under the supreme direction of the general will: and the group receives each individual as an indivisible part of the whole –Rousseau

I, for one, have never signed any contract to this extent and neither has most Americans. Primarily, people have come to live under the rule of the American government by means of birth. Of course, if people are unhappy with majority rule, as majority rule often leads to the oppression of the minority (Fundamentalist Christians, homeschoolers, smokers, non-seatbelt wearers, business owners, etc), they are left with little viable choices for freer countries. Aside from a huge exit cost (monetary, family relationships, logistics, language, etc) the freedom seeker will be unable to find a country with more freedom and similar demographical areas as the United States.

The Economic Freedom index lists the more economically free countries as: Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland, and Canada. Of these nations, not one scores better in regards to inherent personal freedoms (such as the right to bear arms). As such, a freedom lover would have to literally seastead in order to find a freer country than the United States.

This leaves the citizen of the United States in a precarious position, one of living under an unjust system. As such, a new Social Contract is needed. A better Social Contract would be stated as such:

Each of us places his person and authority under the supreme direction of the God’s will. Each individual will live as he wishes otherwise with an understanding that laws are only laws if caught and the penalties (if any) are the fees for that action. These fees may include countless hours in court and harassment by police, as well as a small chance of legal punishment.

Now that is a social contract I can sign.