A social contract is a kind of agreement that people make with one another. It's like when you make a promise to a friend, but it's a promise made by a whole group of people, like a city or a country. In a social contract, people agree to give up some of their rights and freedoms to the government, in exchange for safety and laws that will protect them and make sure everyone is treated fairly. For example, in many countries, people agree to obey laws in exchange for the government taking care of things like healthcare and education.