Classical theorists believe that in order for people to live together in a society they must collectively relinquish some measure of Review of the Literature Classical theorists believe that in order for people to live together in a society they must collectively relinquish some measure of individual rights and freedoms to the government. In turn, the government will regulate the society as to maximize happiness and pleasure within that society. This agreement is known as the social contract. Societies are then deemed good if they take as few rights as possible from the individual and in exchange provide the most protection from others.
Different societies enter into varying social contracts based upon their own values and histories.
Thus the level of political rights, civil liberties, and overall freedoms guaranteed to individuals in different countries can vary immensely. Various studies have been done to measure the overall level of human rights internationally and to discover why certain countries tend towards higher levels of human rights while others do not. In select cases, democratic countries have had histories of high levels of human rights violations. Therefore, democracy itself does not offer enough of an explanation for the variation in political and civil rights. Proponents of economic factors on the level of human rights operate from a rather positivist, subjective viewpoint.