ipl-logo

Rousseau Social Contract

1226 Words5 Pages

In today's society, no matter where you are in the world we all have some sort of leader, no matter what form of government it is. Consequently, with that leader there are going to be certain limitations on what the people can and cannot do. However, that does not neccessarily mean that the people have no say and cannot take any action. It is all a matter of choice and whether or not the people are okay with those certain guidelines or laws. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Origin of Civil Society shows just that. "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains" (Jacobs 241). Rousseau explains how people living under the social norms or social contracts is the only way to a civil state. Well, who decides what that social contract is? Rousseau …show more content…

However he is not necessarily referring to what we know as slavery. He is explaining it in a more broad, yet deeper meaning. "Since no man has natural authority over his fellows, and since Might can produce no Right, the only foundation left for legitimate authority in human societies is Agreement." (Jacobs 244). Here Rousseau actually depicts two situations. One of which is a ruler that assumes they have control but in reality does not and the other one where the people under that ruler do not necessarily have to do what the ruler says. By human nature, we as a people are not slaves to anyone. We are given the will to choose to follow the norms and rules of society or simply not follow …show more content…

Rousseau refers to the general will as the common good of the people. Rousseau does, however, claim that there is not a physical contract between the government and the people. To make sure that the people obey themselves, the sovereign has to be the ultimate authority in the state, because, with this contract, it creates duties for both the government and the its citizens. The people would not be the supreme authority if they had to give in to the government. For Rousseau, the most important purpose of this general will is to be able to give creation of the laws within the state. These laws, though given and made by the citizens must express the general will. Accordingly, though all laws have to uphold the rights of individual freedom and equality among citizens, Rousseau also states that their different needs ,or well, wants can be accommodated to local circumstances. Even though laws owe their allegiance to the general will of the majority, or the people as a whole, some form of government is needed in order to carry out the formal function of law enforcement and watching over the day to day functioning of the

Show More
Related

Locke And Rousseau's Government: The Primary Ideas Of Government

1677 Words | 7 Pages

The Primary objective of all leaders should be to control citizens. A society that allows authority to be challenged will never succeed. This source depicts an authoritarian or totalitarian view of what a governing body should look like. The author suggests that the primary objective of government should be the “control of the citizens”, and therefore that the individuals should entirely obey said government.

Read More

Creation Of The United States Dbq Essay

812 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Enlightenment Dbq Essay

1229 Words | 5 Pages

Locke wanted to establish an agreement between the government and the people that stated the government would protect the natural rights and if they tried to take them away, the people had the right to overthrow the government. This created a bond between the government and the people by having the government protect the people, but in order for the government not to have absolute power, the people could refuse their laws. Other philosophers also believed in social contracts, however they had different motives behind them. Jean Jacques Rousseau, a Swiss philosopher who was committed to individual freedom, also supported the idea of a social contract. He believed that though men were free, they should be willing to give up some freedoms to better society.

Read More

Articles Of Confederation And The Constitution Dbq

1162 Words | 5 Pages

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.

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

Rousseau's Purpose Of The Government

174 Words | 1 Pages

Rousseau contends that the purpose of the government is to unite people under general will and ensure they live in harmony. He thinks that laws should be a collective expression of a general will. All laws should be based according to the general will and should be applied to the people as a whole and not just to one particular individual. He then proposes that it will not be easy for all to sit and create laws, and thus comes up with an idea of a “lawgiver.” According to Rousseau, a lawgiver is someone who creates laws for everyone in the society based on the general will of the people.

Read More

Analysis Of The Social Contract By Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1012 Words | 5 Pages

However, by doing so, we retain our individuality and freedom. In chapter 6, of the social contract Rousseau argues that people need to give up their individual freedom and unite for the common good of all in order to overcome the natural threats to their own existence. It is their own existence that motivates them to give up their individual freedom and unite. The problem with the social contract lies in the opposing forces of individual freedom versus the sovereign that was formed when they united.

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

Locke Vs Rousseau

235 Words | 1 Pages

Rousseau echoes Locke’s support of the right to revolt through his similar theory of the social contract and the general will. Rousseau establishes the argument that a social structure is only legitimate if it exists according to the active will of all the populace. In his view, the sovereign is not a corporate entity but is composed of all the individuals in a society. Therefore, the general will serves as the sovereign. According to Rousseau, as long as the government abides by the general will, the subjects will continue to voluntarily transfer their rights to the community in order to secure their life and property.

Read More

Analysis Of Jean-Jacques Rousseau´s The Social Contract

1500 Words | 6 Pages

To be more specific the Rousseau’s motion of convention is wrong but the right one is the motion of agreement as he mentioned in glossary of The Social Contract book. In order to put some notable touches on the idea of both convention and ‘agreement’ as it can be seen in writing critical commentary. Moreover, Rousseau conception of agreement is like the contract between society and authority the other conception of convention is like when the ruling power or authority or even king as he mentioned on the quote has a power over the individuals in society as he refers to the term of Despotism which means the absolute power of the authority or king, as a similar to the term of Dictatorship now a

Read More

The Social Contract: Rousseau's Code Of Law

1139 Words | 5 Pages

According to Rousseau in The Social Contract, laws are an abstract expression of the general will, deal with the people collectively and help to ensure that all people remain loyal to the sovereign. Rousseau points out that, because people will always chose to promote their individuals interests, one man must serve as a lawgiver who has no command over the people and has no place in the constitution. Although Rousseau recognizes the importance of a lawgiver, he fails to offer a practical solution to the problem that, no man with civil authority can also embody the divine characteristics necessary to be a perfect and unbiased lawgiver. Throughout the text, Rousseau demonstrates the importance of the general will, but suggests that the general

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

Research Paper On Jean Jacques Rousseau

989 Words | 4 Pages

One of his works “The Social Contract” explains how the state need to be guided by the member’s general will. That means everyone should decide how to run the state. His first major work is “Discourse on the Sciences and Arts”, it was the winning response to an essay contest conducted by the Academy of Dijon in 1750. In that particular book, Rousseau argues that sciences and arts progression has led to the corruption of virtue and morality. He thinks it is right for them to give up all their rights, not to a king, but to “the whole community,” all the

Read More

Similarities Between Plato And John Locke

1333 Words | 6 Pages

Only those who are born with true philosophical understanding can rule. In the Second Treatise by John Locke, Locke addresses the state of nature, which is essentially equality and freedom. Even though people have liberty, they still need to obey natural laws. On the contrary of Plato’s just city, Locke believes that absolute authority is not a civil government. A civil society is where the majority rules.

Read More

More about Rousseau Social Contract

Related Topics

Open Document