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How Does Rousseau Create A Legitimate Government

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In his tract "The Social Contract, or Principles political rights" Rousseau formulates the idea of the establishment of the state and the laws on the basis of the social contract. The treatise opens the phrase, which later became the aphorism: "Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains." Recognizing the right of the people to revolt against the despot and the overthrow of absolutism, Rousseau, however, does not believe that the uprising would lead to the formation of a legitimate government. He proposes to construct an orderly, social life of the state on a contractual basis. The state will be represented by the sovereign institution it performs. Public contracts are concluded, all citizens of the state together. Everyone sends their …show more content…

"But the drop, he says, of the expression of will cancel out the extreme, resulting in the remaining differences will have the name of" the general will. '" He sees the individual in two capacities: as a citizen, a member of the government (sovereign) and the media of the general will, and as a private citizen, a private will which may not coincide with the general. In this regard, "since everyone acts in a dual capacity, the decision taken by the people, may be binding on the relationship of citizens to the sovereign, but can not because of the antithesis to put on sovereign obligations in relation to himself." Thus, the sovereign, free from any obligations to the citizen. They're against sovereign responsibilities are alone. Sovereign can not harm individuals. It acts honestly, fairly and to the common good, ensuring the freedom of each. "The citizens do not need a guarantee against sovereign power, for it is impossible to assume that the body wanted to harm their members." Rejecting the interests of the minority, Rousseau demands their obedience taken by a majority decision. The minority is obliged to abandon the delusion and join the majority for their own benefit and

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In any case of failure to protect the rights, the people were in their complete right to overthrow the government (Doc 2 & Pg. 630) In agreement, Rousseau believed that the government’s power also comes from the consent of the people, which he included in his book, The Social Contract. (Pg. 632) Rousseau included much more ideas that incorporated political aspects, but he also his thought about

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This ideology is counter to that of liberalism as it infringes on the natural rights of its citizens, and it is undemocratic as this society would not have the consent of the governed as a whole. Furthermore, counters the rule of law because the author believes the authority should never be challenged, and therefore the author suggests that the authority is exempt of these laws. A thinker such as Hobbes would agree with the author of this source as he believed that without a strong government it would lead to nation wide chaos, such as that that the author describes through the use of the phrase, “A society that allows authority to be challenged will never succeed.”. Additionally, Locke would disagree with all parts of this source, as he believed that individuals know for themselves what is best and therefore should have the freedom to make their own decisions. For the second sentence of this source Locke and Rousseau would both disagree as they believed that consent of the governed was vital to society, which directly contradicts the authors issues with the challenging

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Rousseau’s beliefs coincided with the beliefs of other Enlightenment thinkers. This is shown when he writes, “Duty and interest thus equally require the two contracting parties [the people and the government] to aid each other mutually” (Document 3). In that period of history, it was typical for people to be ruled by a monarch and they had very little say, if any, in the laws and policies that impacted their day to day life. Rousseau felt that the system was outdated and it made citizens feel as if they were living in someone else’s home rather than their own, so he theorized that by fabricating a system in which the government and the people are forced to work together, it creates a sense of unity and equality. This works because “ … an offense against one of its members is an offense against the body politic.

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“ … it is requisite the government be so constituted as one man need not be afraid of another” (Document 2). In some countries, today and in the past, there are instances of dictators creating and enforcing laws that void an individual’s natural rights, but because of Montesquieu's influence on the division of power, the people have no need to fear the government abusing its power. According to the revolutionary enlightenment thinker, there can be no liberty if the legislative and executive powers have equal authority because then tyrannical laws could be imposed. Liberty also can’t be had if the judicial branch isn’t separate from the executive and legislative because if it were joined with the legislative branch, citizens would be exposed to arbitrary control; were it joined with the executive branch, the judge might behave with the violence of an oppressor (Document 2). This concept of checks and balances is directly seen in the Constitution.

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People are sovereign because they are not controlled by another person. For example, someone who works for a baker in a bakery is reliant on that baker for their livelihood. Therefore, that person would be influenced by their boss for the reason of self-interest. If the employer of the baker were to vote a certain way, (ballots were not private like they are now) he could be fired. Thus, he is subservient to the baker.

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anyone refuses to obey general well shall be compelled to do so by the whole body”[ the social contract source 3]. If one person doesn’t want to be a part of the general well, the whole body of the general well shall force them to be. The people are supposed to come to a consensus about their will and force it upon others, but their consensus can be hijacked by one

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Rousseau presents this question “How is a method of associating to be found which will defend and protect-using the power of all-the person and property of each ember and still enable each member of the group to obey only him and to remain as free as before?” Thomas Paine says that “Government, on the other hand, is an institution whose sole purpose is to protect us from our own vices.” In order to grow and protect itself people join a society. For a society to have order and justice and remain equal, laws must be put in place, such that protect the individual rights of these people that they were born with. Equality is another belief that all these philosophies shared.

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Rousseau argued for the elimination of privileges and social hierarchies, and the declaration reflects this principle by proclaiming that all citizens are equal in the eyes of the law and entitled to the same rights and protections. This is seen in the declaration in the words “the law must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes (National Assembly 78).” It also speaks about all being equally protected and no one doing anything which would harm another, as seen in the words “ Liberty consists in being able to do whatever does not harm another (National Assembly 77).” It draws a line when others are harmed, protecting all and limiting all to make sure people are not

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And it can be attained only by reaching the general will which is expressed by the sovereign that is owned by any particular individual which later will create the form of law. Moreover, he also stated that there is the difference between the general will and the “ will of all ”.The “ will of all ” is only the accumulation of every thing that the individual want. But the the general will aim at the common good which achieve what is best for all which is the way of making the decision that he suggests.

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American society is recognized through the power of the White House. It could be possible that the white buildings in Washington, DC reflect the view that the nation was founded and built by white people. This vision of America being “pure” white is flawed. As shown in history, America was dependent on the work provided by the slaves in the South’s agricultural economy, providing the hard labor necessary to run the plantations. America would not have prospered without the extraordinary efforts on the African Americans.

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“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (Jefferson, 1776/2014, para. 2). Authority should not reside over individuals, but with them. A heart cannot run a body alone. Likewise, a government does not operate a nation by itself. Individuals help maintain the justice of authority.

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How can we give up our individual rights without hurting them? Rousseau states, “The problem is to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before. " This is the crux of

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Popular sovereignty is the idea that "governments derive their authority from the consent and support of people, not from God" (Alpha). Until the modern era, most kings and governments claimed their authority from God, a concept called divine right of kings. The concept was based in part of a "social contract" between individuals and their government, a concept created by writers like John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. A corollary of popular sovereignty is that if a government fails or mistreats its people, the people have the right to replace it (The Social Contract). Because the Third Estate formed the vast majority of the French nation, it was entitled to representation in the national government.

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He explains that only when the legislature does not act in the best interest of its citizens or if they “endeavour to invade the property of the subject,” do the citizens have grounds for rebellion (). Following from the previous paragraph, when governments attempt to address inequality without the expressed consent of the governed, they may be dissolved. Focusing so singularly on the protection of property and therefore the protection of inequality will directly contrast with

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Thus, both men would evaluate the statement that “in a legitimate state all men are free and there is no inequality,” differently. Rousseau would mostly disagree, holding that the state itself is the impetus for inequality. Hobbes would largely agree, contending that men are equal both in a primitive state of conflict and under a sovereign’s awesome power. These different responses result from the philosophers’ opposing views on fundamental human nature, civil society’s raison d’etre, and government’s inevitable form. --- Rousseau begins his

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