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Module: Social and Political Theory

Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan political philosopher from the 18th Century. Below are his proposals based on what he believes to be an ideal society: an illiberal democracy.
All quotations are taken from Of The Social Contract (Rousseau, 1762)

Human Nature and the State

The Social Contract

  • When individuals' interests contradict what they have agreed to in the social contract — and this can happen because humans have inherent flaws in their nature — this is a problem since it may provide an incentive to break the terms of the contract.
  • Rousseau believes that, to solve this, citizens should only make their commitment to a social contract if it is in their interest to do so. If this happens, then citizens would still have their rights and equality, while the Sovereign authority must still be obeyed.
  • Some theorists criticise this belief, because many citizens (multiple generations down after the social contract was first agreed to) are born into the contract and therefore have not actively submitted their consent to be governed.
  • However, Rousseau believes that any individual who willingly stays in a nation (providing they have the ability to freely relocate to live in another nation if they so desired) gives their tacit consent to be governed under the existing social contract.
  • Legitimacy and Sovereignty of Government and the Governed

    Important: the "general will" does not mean 'the will of all', but instead simply the 'common interest'. It is possible for individuals who have internalised doubts about the general will to still outwardly comply, and thus not actively challenge the stability of society.

    Citizen Rights

    Associations

    Quotations from Rousseau

    The body politic cannot impose binding rules upon itself, nor can it alienate a part of itself, for this threatens the unity of the body.


    The problem is to find an association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before.


    if the individuals retained certain rights, as there would be no common superior to decide between them and the public, each being on one point his own judge, would ask to be so on all; the state of nature would thus continue, and the associatiom would necessarily become inoperative or tyrannical.


    As soon as the multitude is so united in one body, it is impossible to offend against one of the members without attacking the body, and still more to offend against the body without the members resenting it.


    Finally, each man, in giving himself to all, gives himself to nobody... he gains an equivalent for everything he loses

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