Social contract irrelevant issue to the public

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz may have gone way above the heads of citizens when he made the issue of a social contract a dominant aspect in his policy statement and interventions at the Lower House of Parliament during its deliberations over granting or denying him its vote of confidence. 

The issue of a social contract is not a subject that the public can relate to as it is neither within the realm of their comprehension nor on their list of priorities by a long shot. Why the prime minister chose to inject an abstract political philosophy issue to his thesis on how to govern the country is beyond comprehension. 

No wonder that by and large deputies did not know how and where to react to this idea with some referring to the Constitution as the only social contract that they can relate to or accept. 

The very idea of a social contract goes back to ancient history and perhaps originated with the Greek philosopher Socrates in ancient history circa 470 BC Socrates is credited with finding Western thought and civilisation. 

The Theory was picked up by the French philosopher Jean — Jacques Rousseau in 1762 who wrote extensively about the principles of political rights and obligations between the ruler and the ruled. 

It remained a moral and political philosophy model that became associated with the Age of Enlightenment. Hence, it became the bedrock of Western political models. Does  Prime Minister Razzaz indeed expect citizens to relate to such a complex idea at a time when all that concerns them are bread and butter issues, especially unemployment, runaway inflation and high taxes. 

This is not the time for the pursuit of sophisticated and highly complicated theories that could be better left for seminars at institutions of higher education. Indeed, the Constitution of the country is an organic piece of legislation that spells out the duties and rights of citizens. Let us keep it that way!