the government has a role in doing the most good for the most people. for example, keeping companies from dumping poison into rivers.
That is not what "social contract" is about (unless you keep playing the redefinition of words game, which many people do when arguing in favor of "muh social contract"), and no, we do not need the Government for that.
https://www.academia.edu/7185307/Libertarianism_and_Pollutio...
https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-government-pollution-contro...
https://mises.org/mises-daily/libertarian-manifesto-pollutio...
Among others... Please do ask if you want to read more about it. I personally like to read a lot of things with what I disagree.
Please reply to the other person's comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43748473), too, I wonder what you'd come up with. :)
my reply to this bit is: Take your personal liberty to Libertarian Island.
Is it freedom to carry a gun, or freedom from getting shot?
Is it freedom to pollute, or freedom from pollution?
Is it the freedom to pay as little as possible, or the freedom from others pushing their tragedy-of-the-commons cost onto me?
Is it freedom to choose the ideal healthcare plan for me, or freedom from spending hours deciphering healthcare mumbo-jumbo and ending up in medical debt if you get it wrong?
Liberty is subjective and opinions differ. The social contract is society's collective détente.
Freedom to own a weapon is not equal to freedom to commit violence.
Pollution is an invasion of property rights, and should be treated as such under the law - i.e., as a tort or nuisance, actionable by the victims. In other words, pollution should be punished - not because the government says so, but because it constitutes an aggression against another's property.
Liberty means non-aggression and voluntary interaction.
If you want me to expand, please say so.
In a Libertarian system what the remedy is for people whose lands have been polluted?
And what about CO2 pollution the affects everyone everywhere, not just the local river? What's the remedy then?
And if I own a factory is it not personal liberty to make a profit with it even if it causes pollution?
It is some made up term used to legitimatize government intervention, i.e. statist by nature, and built upon violence. It is a myth used to justify state coercion and centralized authority.
> A society is certainly conceivable in which there was no governmental intervention in family life or education and in which the sole function of law enforcement was the upholding of universal rights.
I would also refer you to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43748473.
https://store.mises.org/Myth-of-the-Social-Contract-Refuting... and https://cdn.mises.org/1_3_3_0.pdf and whatnot.