Moral Theory In Ethics: The Social Contract Theory

One moral theory in ethics is the Social Contract Theory, which tells us “that morality is essentially a cooperative enterprise, and that moral rules are those that self-interested people would obey on the condition that all others do as well” (Shafer-Landau 3, 2015). This means that people in a society agree tacitly to the rules set forth by it, and that abiding to these rules is in their best self-interest because they will get benefits and not be punished for disobeying. The Social Contract theory likens society to a club of sorts. When an individual joins a club, they agree to the rules set forth, and by obeying the rules they receive benefits. That is also how society works: a person follows the rules and contributes, and in turn is rewarded. However, there is the problem of free riders, which are people that profit
I would not be a free rider not only because I do not want to take advantage of others, but because I realize that in the long run paying for the service will have the most beneficial results. The more people pay into the system (or vaccinate their children), the more I and others will be helped, which is the rational action to take in the long run. Also, morally it is not okay to be a free rider because the people that are paying into the system do not consent to having the system (and themselves) be abused by selfish people. In the case of vaccination, the people who fear their children getting autism have one, been severely mislead by falsified unscientific experiments, and two, do not realize that their child having autism is not nearly as appalling as their child being dead or killing another child by giving them a deadly sickness. If these people looked at actual data, they would realize that vaccination is the safest option for their children, and would not be tempted to rely on herd