Rousseau's Social Contract
Rousseau’s Social Misunderstanding
In The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposes a utopian type social contract that all citizens are informally entered into. In this contract, Rousseau calls for the people to sacrifice their natural freedoms in order to receive a greater and more beneficial state of civil liberty. Civil liberty being the state of being subject to laws that are for the benefit of the community opposed to the individual. Rousseau claims that these sacrifices will result in the common good, which is best for the state as a whole. Rousseau’s critics “assert that his political thought, whose goal is a body of citizens who think alike, buttresses a dangerous collectivism and even totalitarianism” (M. Perry, 253).
Rousseau opens The Social Contract to state that “man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau, 45). Rousseau claims that the current state represses many natural freedoms, and provides no civil liberties to all citizens of the state. Not only does this apply to the working class, but it also includes the nobleman and the clergy. Everybody is somebody’s dog or a slave to a certain something, and nobody truly possesses authentic freedom.
In order for a collective state to reach their full potential of freedom, Rousseau proposes a social contract. This social contract would not be something you sign, or formally buy into, but instead it would be a natural agreement of a governing principle that you were born into and informally bound to. Rousseau addresses the people of the state as the “sovereign”, a much different application and interpretation of the word than what we are used to today, to exemplify the importance and power of the collective citizens. . Today, we associate “sovereign” with the power of that of a monarch or group of absolute rule. Rousseau defines the sovereign as the collective body of the citizens, driven by the general will, acting together for the common good and general benefit of the state.
In The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposes a utopian type social contract that all citizens are informally entered into. In this contract, Rousseau calls for the people to sacrifice their natural freedoms in order to receive a greater and more beneficial state of civil liberty. Civil liberty being the state of being subject to laws that are for the benefit of the community opposed to the individual. Rousseau claims that these sacrifices will result in the common good, which is best for the state as a whole. Rousseau’s critics “assert that his political thought, whose goal is a body of citizens who think alike, buttresses a dangerous collectivism and even totalitarianism” (M. Perry, 253).
Rousseau opens The Social Contract to state that “man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau, 45). Rousseau claims that the current state represses many natural freedoms, and provides no civil liberties to all citizens of the state. Not only does this apply to the working class, but it also includes the nobleman and the clergy. Everybody is somebody’s dog or a slave to a certain something, and nobody truly possesses authentic freedom.
In order for a collective state to reach their full potential of freedom, Rousseau proposes a social contract. This social contract would not be something you sign, or formally buy into, but instead it would be a natural agreement of a governing principle that you were born into and informally bound to. Rousseau addresses the people of the state as the “sovereign”, a much different application and interpretation of the word than what we are used to today, to exemplify the importance and power of the collective citizens. . Today, we associate “sovereign” with the power of that of a monarch or group of absolute rule. Rousseau defines the sovereign as the collective body of the citizens, driven by the general will, acting together for the common good and general benefit of the state.
Cited: "Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. . Perry, Marvin, and George W. Bock. Western civilization: a brief history. 10th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2013. Print. Rousseau, Jean-Jacque . The Social Contract. New York : Oxford University Press, 1994. Print. "The Social Contract - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. .