The purpose of this assignment is to reflect upon the role of the state. In a 2-3-page paper, address the following:
1. Explain the various versions of social contract theory with supporting citations to the textbook and online lectures in correct APA format. Use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources.
2. Explain some human rights that you think should be protected by the government. Discuss whether the particular rights you discuss are better understood as "positive" or "negative" rights and whether the rights discussed might be contemplated within social contract theory.
3. Discussions of political beliefs can often generate a great deal of emotion. Your participation grade for all discussion assignments is based in part on your ability to respond to your peers in a respectful and mature fashion, and this assignment is no exception. You are encouraged to present the arguments in favor of your own views and to challenge the arguments made by your peers (in fact, the critical thinking method we discussed last week is an excellent guide for how to present an argument about the role of the government), but please do not engage in personal attacks or other inappropriate communication.