Luke 12:48 and Rousseau's Social Contract

 Luke 12:48 and Rousseau’s Social Contract

When I became Unitarian in 2018 after a decade as an atheist, I started to read the Bible. Not taking it literally, as the infallible word of God, but as an important historical document and, at times in certain places, stories to learn morality. I was reading the New Testament, and I came across Luke 12:48. The final sentence reads, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and more will be required of the person entrusted with more.” It has also been translated in other editions of the Bible, “To whom much is given, much is required.” I think this means, if you have wealth, intelligence, time, power, musical or sporting ability, you are expected to give back. Not to the point of self-destruction, but you are expected to help people with what you have.

More than a decade ago, I read Jean Jacque Rousseau’s the Social Contract. When Rousseau wrote the Social Contract, most governments were monarchies, either Protestant or Catholic. Taxes were paid to monarchies, who were already wealthy, so at the time, taxes were regressive. From reading Rousseau’s Social Contract, my understanding is that people have money or power or intellect, and in exchange for that status and influence, they are supposed to care about other people.

I see a clear echo between Luke’s idea of, “To whom much is given, much is required,” and Rousseau’s idea of the social contract, where as a society, we give people power over us, and in exchange, they are supposed to act in the interest of the community.