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The Discourse Of Inequality By Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s text The Discourse of Inequality brings to light a powerful critique on modernity, centralizing the psychological and political effect on human nature. Whereas John Locke’s concept within the state of nature declares selective men the entitlement of life, liberty and property—Rousseau argues for human evolution’s development—close in proximity to the inequalities facing society. This comparative essay will argue in support for Rousseau’s diagnoses on the unequal modern political and societal institutions that impact the development of man.
John Locke’s favorable opinion on the importance of biblical text states “God, who hath given the world to men in common, hath also given them reason to make use of it to the best advantage of life, and convenience” (Locke); the right for men to use what is around and further their own preservation in life. Man has an inherent right to possession of himself and all that comes with it, “the labor of his body, and work of his …show more content…

The state of nature exists before reason and nothing from the post-state-of-nature could exist in the state of nature; “it is impossible to understand the Law of Nature and hence to obey it without being a very great reasoner and a profound metaphysician.” Rousseau however agrees with Locke on the inclination of man towards self-preservation and others, however natural law does not exist in the state of nature. “I believe I perceive in it two principles prior to reason, of which one interests us intensely in our well-being and our self-preservation, and the other inspires in us a natural repugnance to seeing any sentient being, and especially any being like ourselves, perish or suffer” (Rousseau). These principles are “prior to reason” and do not require a rational mind to interpret, they are inherent within

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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.

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The subject of social inequality has been a long-standing and widely debated issue since the development of private property and task specialization in society. Even though hunter-gatherer societies witnessed relative social equality, over time the growth of prejudiced ideals rooted in mankind’s ability to obtain and utilize land became increasingly prevalent until distinctions involving factors such as sex, class, and race dominated society. Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s analysis of these conditions of society, titled Discourse on Inequality, seeks to outline the root causes of these differentiating elements as belonging to one of two kinds of inequality, either natural or moral. Rousseau’s examination of the way humans love in particular offers an explanation as to why these

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During the Enlightenment, many intellectuals sought to understand society and its underlying mechanisms. People such as Hobbes theorized that society is necessary for people to escape the chaotic and brutal state of nature. However, Rousseau, in his Discourse on the Origin of Moral Inequality, opposes such arguments by stating that it is society that causes inequality and conflict. Additionally, in The Sufferings of Young Werther, the eponymous protagonist has similarly negative views on society, while simultaneously countering the rationalism of the other authors by being a radical Romantic. While both Rousseau and Werther criticize society, and censure its flaws, they do so from completely different perspectives.

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In his work Discourse on the Origin of Inequality Rousseau presents the argument that political inequality is rooted in the origins of human sociality. He suggests that in the state of nature, only physical inequality existed. Thusly meaning that political inequality only came into being as a result of human beings shifting from undifferentiated oneness to differentiated individuals. He illustrates three main stages that lead to this (civil society): the development of village life, the social division of labor and the formation of government. In forming society, we as human beings entered into social relationships and so were able to socially construct agreed upon measurements of human worth (i.e. private property) and so create political inequalities.

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In our world, inequality among men is not a divinely ordained attribute of the human condition. Inequality among men is an aspect of social organization. Inequality remains unjustified. Goodness and talent are often neglected and those who are poor suffer social discrimination (Bendix, 1974). The 20th century sees materialism and its very domain covering three traits—possessiveness, nongenerosity, and envy.

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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.

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