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Rousseau's Discourse On The Origins Of Inequality Among Man

662 Words3 Pages

Jean-Jacques Rousseau,an 18th century writer whose expansion into political and self-discovery literature became a portal for expressing his standpoint on human inequality, arguably set ablaze the beginning of the French Revolution. Rousseau promptly divides inequality into 2 extraneous categories in his Discourse on the Origins of Inequality among Mankind: natural and moral. Natural (also physical) inequality deals with the differences between men that are solely under the control of nature, such as weight, height, gender, appearance, strength, race, etc. Au contraire, moral inequality stems from differences spawned from greed and instinctual human behaviour, with causes and consequences such as unjust law systems, corrupt government structure, gender inequality, racism, etc. …show more content…

His idea of a natural state entails the lack of qualities one would believe to be the centre to human existence, such as language and reason. Rousseau disposes of structures of law, property, government, and human communication in his argument over what is natural and what is not. Another difficult-to-grasp concept which Rousseau sheds some personal light on is the idea that isolation and lack of human communication are major components of the ‘natural man’. This is quite controversial, especially when taking into account that Jean-Jacques’ predicaments take place prior to Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution, which may have subtly placed the late Rousseau in an uncomfortable position given that is partially disproves his

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Political philosophers: Jean Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke had quite opposing viewpoints, particularly on their political ideals. Rousseau and Burke’s perspectives on what the political system should be are directly influenced by the assumptions held in their personal beliefs on the origins of inequality. While they both articulate their positions, there is a lack of evidence and sustenance for the underlying assumptions in Burke’s argument of education and the social hierarchy, which is why Rousseau’s concepts are more compelling. However, when compared economically Burkes concepts have greater value. Rousseau's perspective in the Second Discourse initiated the discussion of inequality by distinguishing between the two types: "moral" or "political” or what is just called social inequality.

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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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