The only society that can afford a social contract is a society where there exists the rule of law, things are predictable, and things are more or less run according to reason rather than by fear. The social contract is the first victim of totalitarian regimes because no one can afford to think in social ways -- everyone scams "the system" and one-another just to survive. This truly is the nihilist ideal (if nihilists can be said to have "ideals") of turning everything into a zero-sum game. As a society becomes less free people will act more like animals. Animals in cages but still animals.
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