Freedom- not under the control or in the power of another; able to act or be done as one wishes. This is the definition of freedom. Here in the United States we have freedom to do what we want, to say what we want, and to be who we want. We have changed so much over the past 232 years, from being a small number of colonies under the rule of a monarch, to being a Republic of free people. The man that we owe a great deal to for this idea of freedom is Jean-Jacques Rousseau. With the help of his book the Social Contract the idea of be coming a free nations took form in the United states of America. In his book “The Social Contract” Rousseau talks about how men should not be ruled by the government or monarchy, but the Government should be …show more content…
The three are democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy. for a democracy the people or the Sovereign may charge the government to the whole of the people. aristocracy a small number of high ranking citizens make up the government. the last is monarchy, it is ruled by a family line of rulers, a royal government. “in a democracy, the people bears the least charge;in an aristocracy, a greater charge; and, in monarchy, the weight becomes heaviest”. -(Rousseau 78). Rousseau saids that a monarchy is best suited for wealthy nations. an aristocracy is best suited for a medium size and wealthy nation. for a democracy he says that a small and poor nation was best suited for it. rousseau talks about these different governments and asks which one is the ideal government? Is it aristocracy where a small group of higher class citizens make the laws? is it democracy where the people as a whole rule together? or is it monarchy, where the people are ruled over by one person? Rousseau answers the question which is the ideal government by saying “it is unanswerable as well as indeterminate; or rather, there are as many good answers as there are possible combinations in the absolute and relative situations of all nations”. what he is saying is that it all depends on the nation itself. is the nation suited for that type of
During this time Enlightenment thinkers, like John Locke, saw no reason why kings should rule rather than having people rule themselves. They believed that a more logical system was one in which the government existed by the consent of the people. They believed that a democracy was the best government that able to protect their natural rights and not take advantage of them. They realized that a monarchy would not protect them or live up the needed standards to be successful. Locke and many others believed that the government's’ duty was to guard and protect the natural rights of humans, life liberty and property.
In response to the British’s intolerable acts during this time people desired a government based on popular sovereignty or the idea that a government's power ultimately comes from the consent of the people. The political treatise "The Social Contract," written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, explores the idea that the people are sovereign and that the legal power of a state arises from the agreement of the governed in order to build a more stable and just society. In this work, Rousseau makes the case that the common good should serve as any society's guiding concept and that the government should be in charge of advancing
Rousseau strongly believes in the idea of majority rule, and his idea of the general will is discussed heavily in The Social Contract. By advocating for the undeniability of the general will, Rousseau effectively says that factions have no place in effective government, “It is therefore essential, if the general will is to be able to express itself, that there should be no partial society within the State, and that each citizen should think only his own thoughts;” (Rousseau pg 437). Since Rousseau thinks society needs to work as one harmonious machine, there is no place for factions and self-interest in his model society. Rousseau makes some smart arguments on how if people are willing to give up certain liberties, all of society can greatly benefit. However, much like many political thinkers looking for change, Rousseau ends up being quite idealistic, and very disconnected with how the world works.
He based his beliefs off of the ideas that all men are created good-natured, but society corrupts them. Unlike some other French Enlightenment thinkers, Rousseau believed that the Social contract was not a willing agreement. He also said that no man should be forced to give up their natural rights to a ruler. He came up with the solution that people should “give up” their natural rights to the community for the public’s good. He believed in a democratic government.
These two different groups were treated unequally when Rousseau’s concept of “the government acted as an instrument of the rich while suppressing the poor.” (Lecture) He argues that the rich and the poor individuals living in a civil society are influenced differently by the state of war. The dilemma usually occurs when the private property of individuals was at stake in their living community during the timeframe of the French and American Revolution. During the 18th century, the discussion of Rousseau’s view on the origin of government shows that natural rights were only given to the wealthy rich people thus limiting the poor, which was the majority of the population at the time, from having access to the rights that the minorities of the population enjoyed.
Artificial equality would be the result of this statement by Madison, “ Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. ”(Federalist 17) Rousseau believed strongly in free choice and in the Federalist Papers it is shown that it is very difficult to establish a government that is stable and will not threaten the liberties of the people. Overall Rousseau believed that the people should be left to create their own natural equality and inequality through their use of liberty while the Federalist Papers focused on how the government could accomplish the same task.
Moreover, Sieyes also claimed that the nobility was a foreigner “in our midst” because they were not defending the general interest, but a private one (Sieyes 3), which contradicted the core value of the General Will. Thence, unlike Rousseau, who would include everyone, Sieyes stated that the Third Estate should be everything. The second difference occurred when Sieyes suggested the “Extraordinary Representative Body.” Rousseau
Of the five governments detailed in this assignment only two continue to present in modern society, monarchy and democracy. Monarchy governments exist in countries ruled by kings and queens, while democracy governments exit under the leadership of presidents. By the time of Aristotle (fourth century BC) there were hundreds of Greek democracies (Cartledge, 2011). Although many of these forms of government no longer exist or are practice today, they did pave the way for modern government. We can compare apples to oranges the similarities and differences of, for example, the US presidency to that of a monarch government.
He justifies the need for democracy, aristocracy and monarchy depending on location. The three philosophers use their judgment and prior knowledge on each other’s work to validate an ideal society, especially for the uprising continent of America. Governments are an established institution in every society. Though there are multiple types of governments, their purpose is fundamental to determining the influence on a civilization.
This paper examines both Jean-Jacques Rousseau and James Madison remark concerning ‘ factions ’ as the potential destructive social force to the society. To layout and examine, this paper will first outline and discuss on Rousseau’s understanding of factions in The Social Contract,and Madison’s discussion on factionalism in the Federalist Papers 10.But there are many component surrounded with their view’s on ‘factions’,so it is important to consider together. Firstly,I will consider the definition and the element surrounded with their view on factions. With regard to Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Social Contract,he believes that the society can only function to the extent that people have interest in common.
One of the most famous Enlightenment thinkers was Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of The Social Contract. The point of The Social Contract is to establish whether or not a legitimate political authority can exist. Rousseau based his book on the idea that things were worse of now that people were under a governmental authority than before—whenever they were in a state of nature. Rousseau’s work was influential around the world, giving rise to political reforms and
The citizens of Geneva need to fight corruption and protect their constitution. Rousseau writes this dedication to Geneva as though they are in a perfect state which is supplemented by the fact that he is complimenting certain aspects of Geneva, but he is really given suggestions on how Geneva could be a better state altogether. According to Rousseau, virtues such as freedom and morality would characterize such a healthy city. A healthy political city is a free city where the people are not at war between themselves and are not trying to invaded inside the city, but who are “preventing others from invading themselves.”
Rousseau mentions that because of these circumstances, the people and the government will be in contention with one another, with the government sometimes acting against the general will of the people. In this case, Rousseau suggests the formation of a tribune in order to mediate these conflicts. Furthermore, Rousseau’s governing system necessitates that the people participate in attending assemblies, and that these people need to vote not according to their own interests, but according to what is best for everyone. Rousseau does suggest that there be a system of checks in a government, but unlike other proponents of a system of check and balances, Rousseau believes that the government should be checked, not by other parts of the government, but by the populace who, along with a proper political education, will, in Rousseau’s mind, have the best interests of the community in mind. There are many problems with the idea and institution of a direct democracy, however.
Rousseau began his Social Contract with the revolutionary idea “Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chain” meaning that men are born free in their natural state but everywhere they go laws of government are restricting them from freedom. Which anger the people and made them question whether they actually live in an Enlightened age. “This danger is not so great, for by falling a few times they would finally learn to walk alone.” (Immanuel) He states that when people of the Enlightenment Age disobeyed laws, they were punished until they learn to “walk alone” or live by the laws set out for them.
How does Rousseau conceive the relationship between democracy and freedom? What are the main merits of and problems with his approach? Although the Social Contract promises freedom to the members of the state this freedom does not automatically include democracy. Democracy is suggested as a possible form of government alongside aristocracy and monarchy whereas today it is arguable that democracy is seen as the only form which denotes a free people.