The Reference to America as Evidence of the “State of Nature” in Classical Contractual Theories
Abstract
The problem of appropriating America in Western thought encourages a conceptual production that reconfigured the way of understanding politics and power. In this context, a theory would arise that would allow internalizing the New World in the European political imaginary: contractualism. The main authors of this current will be: Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. The theoretical course that these refer to is similar: men live in a pre-social stage called the state of nature, which is overcome when developing a social pact, which allows for the formation of a social state. It is concluded that America will be a central piece in the contractual scheme, mainly because its reference will provide an empirical support to the hypotheticals that will be raised in said scheme.
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