ipl-logo

Mills Vs Rousseau Analysis

927 Words4 Pages

Throughout the past month, we have read and discussed both The Social Contract by Jean-Jaques Rousseau and The Racial Contract by Charles Mills’. As I said before, the two philosophers derive from very opposing backgrounds, their literary works theorize vital agreements between the members of a society that unite them for the overall benefit of its citizens. Each philosopher addresses the elements and ideas, but Charles Mills’ tackles the elephant in the room involving the issue of race. Because of his ability to see the need for this unspoken issue to be incorporated, I believe that Mills' Racial Contract is more persuasive. Both Rousseau's Social Contract and Mills' Racial Contract are inferred agreements that are existent throughout …show more content…

While Rousseau’s contract originated first, it is classified as being prescriptive as well as descriptive. This means his theories in The Social Contract, are how Rousseau believes society should be conducted. Mills’ Racial Contract, on the other hand, is strictly descriptive, meaning he does not believe this is the exact way that societies should be managed. On page two of The Social Contract, Rousseau states, “Even if each man could alienate himself, he could not alienate his children: they are born men and free; their liberty belongs to them, and no one but they have the right to dispose of it” (Rousseau, Pg. 4). The idea that a contract is needed in any society in order to accomplish more and achieve greater individual security for the price of some of their rights and freedoms is prevalent in both Mills’ and Rousseau’s novels. On the contrary, White supremacy is an underlying theme throughout The Social contract, while Mills’ calls out Rousseau for objectifying “peoples of color” by ignoring them from the contract as a whole. Due to this detrimental difference in the two philosophers’ beliefs, I have to side with Charles Mills’ and his racial contract. When it is all said and done, Mills’ appropriately addresses the problem and respectfully finds a solution that is not offensive to certain

Show More
Related

Enlightenment Dbq Essay

1229 Words | 5 Pages

During the Enlightenment many new ideas inspired the government and the people to come together to better society. People such as John Locke, Beccaria and many others had different ideas of how to reform the government during the Enlightenment period, which lasted from 1685-1815. The ideas created by the philosophers of this time included new beliefs and new laws. This ultimately leads to new relations forming between the government and the people. The propositions proposed by the Enlightenment altered the association between government and society by uniting the ideas of the government and the people, promoting the tolerance of all religions, and giving justice to the people.

Read More

Rousseau's Influence On Abbe Sieyes

877 Words | 4 Pages

The second value of the General Will in Rousseau’s belief was that everyone under it should gain the same rights (Rousseau 15). Similarly, in Sieyes’ excerpt, he argued that the citizens should stand in the equal distance from the General Will, and occupy equal places. This argument could be translated into the belief that “Legal rights are identical for every person, whether his property happens to be great or small” (Sieyes

Read More

Compare And Contrast Jean Jacques Rousseau's Understanding Of Factions

1324 Words | 6 Pages

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.

Read More

Implicate Maximilien Robespierre For The Reign Of

216 Words | 1 Pages

In the final analysis, Jean-Jacques Rousseau cannot be held entirely responsible for the actions of others when he already admits the existence of weaknesses in The Social Contract. While there is some coherence in Rousseau’s ideas of natural man and his foremost duty as a citizen bound to a social contract, Rousseau attached problematic conditions of a higher body in the “legislator” and a temporary dictatorship for exceptional circumstances. This also makes it difficult to fully implicate Maximilien Robespierre for the Reign of Terror when the event spiralled out of actions that had the noble intent of The Social Contract in mind, including all of its assumptions and its contradictory and precarious elements. The difficulty of pinning responsibility

Read More

Age Of Reason And The French Revolution Analysis

1411 Words | 6 Pages

Daniel Mornet began the modern discussion of the intellectual origins of the French Revolution. While studying hundreds of eighteenth century private libraries, Mornet could only find one copy of the Social Contract. This ineffectiveness of the Enlightenment was demonstrated by Joan Macdonald who published that the readership of Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract was limited to only a few thousand people prior to 1789. Although the arguments may seem persuasive, Mornet’s finding have been viewed as inaccurate, therefore, devaluing the findings of Macdonald and other historians because of misleading figures being their

Read More

Analysis Of The Social Contract By Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1012 Words | 5 Pages

Book One of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau focuses on the reasons that people give up their natural liberty in order to achieve protection from threats to themselves and their property. This results in the formation of a legitimate sovereign where all members are equal. Rousseau believes that no human has authority over another individual because force cannot be established. He argues that no individual will give up his or her freedom without receiving something in return. I will focus my analysis on how the social contract states that we must give up our individual rights in order to obtain equality and security.

Read More

Worst Effects Of Socialization

769 Words | 4 Pages

What, according to Rousseau, were the worst effects of socialisation? Jeans-Jacques Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men is a defence of the original man in a state of nature and an attack on the corrupt and elitist European society of his day. Rousseau sought to ‘go back to an earlier point and try to piece together[… the] slow succession of events’ in order to pinpoint where humanity degenerated from the state of nature to today’s “civilised” society. In this sense, Rousseau seems to be attributing the process of socialisation to ‘all the evils’ in the world.

Read More

The Banning Of The Social Contract In France

607 Words | 3 Pages

The banning of The Social Contract in France seemed quite irrational, especially since Rousseau did not name any particular ruler or member of the court. However, The Social Contract gave permission to the French people to regain their liberty and remove any power, they felt, did not prove legitimacy. Rousseau states that “one (man) thinks himself to be the master of others and still remains a greater slave than they” (Rousseau 1). This implies that even a ruler is not truly free.

Read More

What Is Rousseau Say That Slavery Is Wrong?

412 Words | 2 Pages

Rousseau (1913) claims that slavery is wrong for and within society on the basis of several arguments that he puts fourth in the Social Contract, these arguments defend Rousseau’s claim that slave contracts are illegitimate. Rousseau refers to Grotius’ question on the matter that an individual can surrender himself into slavery and into the hands of the king; “if an individual, says Grotius, can alienate this liberty and make himself the slave of a master, why could not a whole people do the same and make itself subject to the king?” (Rousseau, 1913, p. 9) Rousseau refutes such and strongly believes that it is impossible and illegitimate for an individual to sign a contract based on surrendering his own freedom and liberty. (Rousseau, 1913)

Read More

Social Inequality In John Locke And Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1253 Words | 6 Pages

The questions of the whether social inequality is justified and the extent of government to address said inequality are some of the foundations upon which societies and economies are built. Two key philosophers on this issue – John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau – differ on this subject. In Two Treatises on Government, Locke holds that individuals have a right to property derived from their labor, citizens consent to the existence of inequality in society, and governments are instituted among men to protect said property. In contrast, Rousseau writes in Discourse on the Origin of Inequality and The Social Contract that inequality should be strictly limited and that governments have a duty to act in the best interest of its citizens by maintaining

Read More

Rousseau's Discourse On The Origin Of Inequality

511 Words | 3 Pages

However, I think it is important to remember Rousseau’s concept of perfectibility and understand that because of this trait it was almost inevitable that humans would eventually become social. Yet, it is not inevitable that humans would become politically unequal, as that is a direct result of government institutions. As well, Rousseau himself in further writings even expresses the hope that a new form of social contract could help to ease some of the political inequalities that plague contemporary society. This then suggests that the cause for these issues is not rooted in being social, for it is possible to live among others in a setting where equality has been institutionalized. Rather, the problem lies with corrupt and capitalist governments that serve to perpetuate inauthenticity and private

Read More

Counter Enlightenment Contributions To Society Today

134 Words | 1 Pages

While most individuals focus on the contributions made by theorists who were inspired by the Enlightenment era, many Counter-Enlightenment theorists made significant contributions to society today. Rousseau, who opposed the development of society away from tradition, believed that there “must be a genuine social contract in which everyone participates in creating laws for the good of society” in order for the society to flourish (Rousseau in E&A 2015:8). Today, this subjective element that individuals must come together to achieve a common interest or a common goal is evident in the American social “contract” of citizenship. U.S. citizens agree to obey federal and state laws and be productive members of society in return for safety, freedom,

Read More

Durkheim And Rousseau Analysis

1624 Words | 7 Pages

“This right does not come from nature, it is therefore founded upon convention”. Rousseau does not view society in the same light as Durkheim. He does not believe that society is the savior of humans and that there is no real self without it. Unlike Durkheim, Rousseau believes that the only natural society is the traditional family and that any other form is forged out of convention. Rousseau mentions that when parents are done raising their child and that child is no longer dependent, but chooses to stay then the family is together out if convention and is then unnatural.

Read More

Similarities Between Hobbes And Rousseau

1351 Words | 6 Pages

Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Thomas Hobbes, two titans of the Enlightenment, work within similar intellectual frameworks in their seminal writings. Hobbes, in Leviathan, postulates a “state of nature” before society developed, using it as a tool to analyze the emergence of governing institutions. Rousseau borrows this conceit in Discourse on Inequality, tracing the development of man from a primitive state to modern society. Hobbes contends that man is equal in conflict during the state of nature and then remains equal under government due to the ruler’s monopoly on authority. Rousseau, meanwhile, believes that man is equal in harmony in the state of nature and then unequal in developed society.

Read More

How Did Rousseau Influence The French Revolution

810 Words | 4 Pages

A key political theorist influencing the initial outbreak of the French Revolution is Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Social Contract, written by Rousseau, provided the rights the French people initially demanded. In the Social Contract, Rousseau delegitimizes absolute monarchies and popularizes rights of

Read More

More about Mills Vs Rousseau Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document