Social contract theory

The answer to fear, says Hobbes, is a compact
to put our human powers under a common lord
who will, in our names, bear the lawful sword
and, if he finds it needful, send us to be racked.
Locke, for his part, shows a great deal of tact:
the contract's made for us, if our ox is gored
by some dull tyrant seeking power to hoard
we've the right to overthrow him, that's a fact.
Rousseau, in French, tells us that we're in chains
though born in liberty, but that to make all right
and just the general will shall force us to be free.
Each of these theories, it seems, will tax the brains
of those who look on things with narrow sight;
in truth each is a distinct branch of the same tree.