Social contract theory, nearly as old as philosophy itself, is the view that persons' moral and/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract<span> or agreement among them to form the society in which they live.
</span>The theory<span> of an implicit </span>social contract<span>holds that by remaining in the territory controlled by some society, which usually has a government, people give consent to join that society and be governed by its government, if any. This consent is what gives legitimacy to such government.</span>