Social contract - schmotial contract

People who support the state often say that everyone who lives in the territory claimed by the state has implicitly agreed to abide by the state's rules; that by not leaving the territory, they've entered into a voluntary agreement. This agreement is often the basis for denying that taxation to fund a project not supported by the taxpayer is theft.

The implicit contract that statists say exists is known as a social contract. This contract has been compared to the implicit contract between a customer and a restaurant. I know about and agree with the terms of the implicit contract between a restaurant and myself. I understand that my ordering of food is the trigger that brings the agreement into effect, and that part of the agreement is that I will pay for the food I order.

But by contrast, I have no knowledge of the social contract that statists tell me exists. Since I have never had knowledge of this agreement, I cannot have given meaningful consent to it. Furthermore, even if I had known that there was a mysterious contract that I was being asked to agree to, I still wouldn't be able to give meaningful consent to it until I knew exactly what the terms were.

I don't believe that a social contract exists. If I'm right, then I can't have agreed to a non-existent contract. If I'm wrong, then I can't have agreed to a contract that I did not know was being offered for my acceptance, nor can I have agreed to a contract whose terms I have no knowledge of. Either way, I cannot have agreed to a social contract by living in a territory claimed by a state.