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The Social Contract By Rousseau Analysis

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In Book 1, The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the main focus is directed at why people give up their natural liberty in order to achieve protection from threats to themselves and their possessions. This then results in the formation of a legitimate sovereign we’re all members are equal. Rousseau believes that no human has authority over another individual because force cannot be established. He disputes that no one will give up his or her freedom without getting something back. 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. However, by doing so we retain our individuality and freedom.

In chapter 6, according to Rousseau in the social …show more content…

The individual must agree to or be subject to the group 's collective will. This The sovereign cannot harm an individual without harming everyone. The individual also has the duty to protect the sovereign with everything they possess. Thus the conflict is set up between freedom and duty. Once an individual exercises their own will in a manner in disagreement with the sovereign then the fabric of the contract begins to fall apart. It is the manner in which we express our individual freedoms that pull apart the contract. When small groups within the sovereign desire to have their will imposed on the entirety then the nature of the contract changes. The sovereign needs to be strong enough to remain true to the reasons of its existence and yet allow individuals some latitude in exercising their individual freedom. In chapter 7 Rousseau suggests that the individual freedom is retained because the sovereign cannot impose its own will on someone. By doing so then the sovereign hurts all members. This duality is the force that prevents a tyranny from emerging and allows equality of it members along with individual …show more content…

We expect them to protect us and our indepence. As a result, our government is always facing criticism. People make promises they cannot keep in the governmental system, and people have different beliefs and opinions on improving how to run our country. Aforementioned why our government is always facing criticism. When people do not agree on a single method to run the country, it can become uncontrolled and hectic. Chapter 6-8 explains how Rousseau believes that the social conventions the surround us and states that he believes all humans should have all the freedom they desire. If everyone is special, no one is. All individuals as members of the community contribute to the society as a whole. He believes that God gave man the world, including reason and the state of nature equals the state of equality. If citizens do not have any faith in their bureaucracy, then the government will fail. The future of republic in America is in danger solely from if citizens believe that no matter what they do they will not be able to make adjustments in government, they will never try to. In order for a democracy to operate, the people have to be engaged and participate. If people do not participate, than democracy will be successful and eventually

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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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