The correct answer is People support the government in exchange for rights and protection.
The idea of a social contract is based on the principle that society is established by mutual agreement so that a certain end is achieved. The social contract is the moment when the human being ceases to live as a natural being and starts to live as a being that stands out from nature, creating its own laws, its morals, customs and a set of institutions so that coexistence be more harmonious.
According to contractual philosophers, there is a period of humanity, which is the pre-social period, in which the human being is in his state of nature. The state of nature is the period in which society has not yet formed, when there is no civil law and, therefore, a civilization to support social life. This state is governed by a law of nature that puts human beings on an equal footing. We call this set of natural rights and the state of nature theory naturalism.
The great problem with the state of nature is that equality of rights generates conflicts, and in order for coexistence to be more peaceful between people, it is necessary to institute a set of civil laws that resolve all possible conflicts that may arise in it. The state formed after the natural state is called civil society or civil status.
