Rousseau's On The Social Contract: First And Second Discourse
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, author of On the Social Contract, the First and Second Discourse, as well as other notable works, had a profound impact on political philosophy and Western thought during the 18th century and still shapes politics today.
Contrary to what have some have some have misconstrued regarding Rousseau, he did not argue that man in his natural state was virtuous or perfect. Some commentators have suggested that Rousseau believed that man in his natural state was the height of perfection, but this is simply not true. Rousseau held that man in his natural state, which was more of a hypothetical scenario rather than his attempt to discern or expound upon the literal truth and historical accuracy of the origins of humanity, was …show more content…
Rousseau is of the view that private property is invented out of the development of egocentrism (amour propre), as well as other ideas such as the division of labor. He says of the origin of private property, “the first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say, “This is mine,” and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society (69).” Here Rousseau is saying that someone said to himself, and to others, that they are the sole and legal owner of a specific piece of land, and that all he had to do was to convince other people, who Rousseau calls simple, that he was correct. Rousseau also says of the origin of private property that, “as soon as one man needed the help of another, as soon as one man realized that it was useful for a single individual to have provisions for two, equality disappeared, property came into existence, [and] labor became necessary (74).” Though it may be clear that Rousseau is not the biggest fan of the concept of private property, he also did not ignore or fight it. He embraced the idea, to a certain extent, in that he saw it as, if done right and properly balanced, part of a healthy society, in that it has the ability to bind citizens and the state together, while also managing to ensure the self-dependence of citizens and procuring
Contrary to what have some have some have misconstrued regarding Rousseau, he did not argue that man in his natural state was virtuous or perfect. Some commentators have suggested that Rousseau believed that man in his natural state was the height of perfection, but this is simply not true. Rousseau held that man in his natural state, which was more of a hypothetical scenario rather than his attempt to discern or expound upon the literal truth and historical accuracy of the origins of humanity, was …show more content…
Rousseau is of the view that private property is invented out of the development of egocentrism (amour propre), as well as other ideas such as the division of labor. He says of the origin of private property, “the first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say, “This is mine,” and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society (69).” Here Rousseau is saying that someone said to himself, and to others, that they are the sole and legal owner of a specific piece of land, and that all he had to do was to convince other people, who Rousseau calls simple, that he was correct. Rousseau also says of the origin of private property that, “as soon as one man needed the help of another, as soon as one man realized that it was useful for a single individual to have provisions for two, equality disappeared, property came into existence, [and] labor became necessary (74).” Though it may be clear that Rousseau is not the biggest fan of the concept of private property, he also did not ignore or fight it. He embraced the idea, to a certain extent, in that he saw it as, if done right and properly balanced, part of a healthy society, in that it has the ability to bind citizens and the state together, while also managing to ensure the self-dependence of citizens and procuring