StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Political Philosophy by Rousseau - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Law - An abstract expression of the general will that is universally applicable. Laws deal only with the people collectively, and cannot deal with any particulars. They are essentially a record of what the people collectively desire. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.1% of users find it useful
Political Philosophy by Rousseau
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Political Philosophy by Rousseau"

191510 The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges George Washington, 1783 Mock on, mock on, Voltaire, Rousseau; Mock on, mock on; 'tis all in vain! You throw the sand against the wind, And the wind blows it back again. William Blake Law - An abstract expression of the general will that is universally applicable. Laws deal only with the people collectively, and cannot deal with any particulars. They are essentially a record of what the people collectively desire. Laws exist to ensure that people remain loyal to the sovereign in all cases. http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/socialcontract/characters.html Rousseau, the prince among thinkers, thought that the collective participation of the people is necessary for creating the law of the state. He thought that to be a good citizen the person has to conduct many democratic and participatory tasks and law creation is one of them. "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains" he said (181)1. He is free only if he can express his interest and individuality. He said, "Each man in giving himself to all, gives himself to nobody" (192). He was placing the individual in a responsible and responsive society that can create, run a government and participate in it. Collective decisions are the core of democracy, equality, liberty, fraternity. "As an ideal, the general will is, for Rousseau, a genuine universal.It is the unity through which the addictive collection of wills gets its meaning," Dyke (1969, p.23). Rousseau argues in favour of general will at every step. "The general will is the will of all when we are not thinking about our own selfish interests but about the general interest" Roberts (1997). . According to him if the laws of the land are good, it will reflect in the goodness of citizens and hence, the law is the root cause of good and bad both and so is highly significant. Especially the political, fundamental laws have to be wise and they connect the sovereign to people, one citizen to another, and connect the law to citizens. They also form the constitution of the state, which can wield power in every day life of the citizen. It is in the interest of all, it will affect all and rules all, and hence, participation of all is necessary. "Rousseau's theory has often been decried as too abstract and metaphysical. This is in many ways its great strength; but where it is excessively so, the accident of time is to blame" http://www.4literature.net/Jean_Jacques_Rousseau/The_Social_Contract/ He never talks of an individual without talking of collectivity. "The most basic convent, the social pact, is the agreement to come together and form a people, a collectivity"2.is "the real foundation of society," (p.59) and such general will must be "forced to be free" (64). His democracy is the most direct, extremely strong kind and it depended on the general will coming together frequently to make rules for themselves. They should identify each other and the common interests. We should remember that the states were smaller in those days. He did not want the common man to loosen his grip over the authority. "The constant will of all the members of the state is the general will; by virtue of it, they are citizens and free." He also says that liberty is impossible if the general will in majority ceases. "To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even it duties," he says on slavery and hence, making of law is the duty and right of the individual. "This general will is supposed to represent the common good or public interest - and it is something that each individual has a hand in making. All citizens should participate - and should be committed to the general good - even if it means acting against their private or personal interests." http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rous.htm Even though he calls sovereignty as inalienable and indivisible, he unhesitatingly mentions the limits of sovereignty, because it is the nature that gives man absolute power which, 'under the direction of the general willbears the name of sovereignty' and such a sovereign 'cannot impose upon its subjects any fetters' because 'general will is always in the right' he says. He argues that 'all stand in need of guidance'. He declares, 'people being subject to the laws, ought to be their author,' because the conditions of the society should be regulated only by them, who are part of it. And they have to bring 'their wills into conformity with their reason'. "Rousseau was calling for a rebuilding of the social contract from the ground up in order to ensure equality and freedom" http://www.wsu.edu/dee/GLOSSARY/SOCCON.HTM He said 'justice cannot be defined as the right of the strongest' and hence, even the weakest has to participate in the decision making process. He stood for totalitarian democracy. He is thinking of a well-ordered society. "Only a society's general will, according to Roussseau, transforms the mere fact of power into right," Riley (1978, p.498). Rousseau claims: "The law of majority voting is itself something established by convention, and presupposes unanimity on one occasion at least" (p.190). It must have looked unreasonable and illogical in the late 18th century. But he called for pure democracy that does not exist even today. "A pure democracy run according to majoritarian principles might be the best example of the will of all." Williams (2005, p.385). Critics rightly pointed out that the problem of consent will arise and it is not very practical. Still Kant called Rousseau the 'Newton of the moral world'. "For Rousseau an unnameable, rational, an unidentifiable, a priori concepts originates the authority of general laws," Conklin (2001, p.135). Another fact exists that he was talking about smaller states. "Rousseau believed democracy to be only suitable for very small communities for he would allow or admit representation," Freidrich (1963, p.124). He said "taking men as they are and the laws as they might be" he tried to show "how the concept of a just state can be conceived without contradiction" Levine (2002, p.96). But about the principles he was putting forth, there was absolute clarity in his mind and he wanted to bring people under suitable laws. "He sees with frightening clarity that we could be made victims of our sensations and experiences, if we were not taught how to master them," Hampsher (1992, p.156). So, naturally, laws were extremely important and he tried to connect them with the democratic, totalitarian, absolutely sovereign society and hence, the law making had to be the role of every individual of such a society. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Conklin, William E. (2001), The Invisible Origins of Legal Positivism, Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands. 2. Dyke, C., 'Collective decision making in Rousseau, Kant, Hegel and Mill', Ethics, Vol. 80, No. 1. (Oct., 1969), pp. 21-37. 3. Freiderich, Carl J. (1963), The Philosophy of Law in Historical Perspective, University of Chicago Press. 4. Hampsher-Monk, Iain (2002), A History of Modern Political thought, Blackwell, Oxford. 5. Levine, Andrew (2002), Engaging Political Philosophy, Blackwell, Malden. 6. Riley, Patrick, 'The General Will Before Rousseau', Political Theory, Vol. 6, No. 4, Special Issue: Jean-Jacques Rousseau. (Nov., 1978), pp. 485-516. 7. Roberts, Andrew (1997), Rousseau, the French Revolution, Women and the Slaves, Middlesex University. 8. Williams, David Lay, 'Justice and the General Will', Journal of the History of Ideas 66.3 (2005) 383-411. ONLINE SOURCES 1. http://www.iep.utm.edu/s/soc-cont.htm#SH2c 2. http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/socialcontract/characters.html 3. http://www.4literature.net/Jean_Jacques_Rousseau/The_Social_Contract/ 4. http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rous.htm 5. http://www.wsu.edu/dee/GLOSSARY/SOCCON.HTM 6. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Political Philosophy by Rousseau Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1500162-political-philosophy-by-rousseau
(Political Philosophy by Rousseau Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1500162-political-philosophy-by-rousseau.
“Political Philosophy by Rousseau Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1500162-political-philosophy-by-rousseau.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Political Philosophy by Rousseau

What Did Marx Learn from Rousseau and How Did He Shift the Political Thought

The author identifies what Marx learned from rousseau.... The author states that limiting the powers of government is the only way to defend personal rights, and Constant is worried that rousseau fails to do this.... rousseau goes so far as to create the error of granting total power to the sovereign.... hellip; The spirit of Constant's assault centers around rousseau's use of the general will.... rdquo; Political theorists have waged too small notice to the role of literature and the arts in the shaping of political ideals, and of no period is this truer than rousseau's....
9 Pages (2250 words) Term Paper

Rousseau's Philosophical Ideas

In study essay, rousseau's thoughts about human nature - particularly on equality, the social contract theory, enlightenment and the influx of technology, ethics, morality and freedom, and religion and human nature, in general, are discussed.... hellip; Human nature is one of the most talked about subjects in philosophy and Jean-Jacques rousseau remains as one of the most outspoken theorists pertaining to the nature of man.... nbsp; It is, therefore, no wonder that rousseau rose to fame as a central figure in the development of philosophy in the eighteenth century and one of the best-known exponents of the French Enlightenment....
15 Pages (3750 words) Case Study

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Origins and Effects of Inequality

he main paradox emphasized by rousseau is the following: people prescribe laws to other people without proper knowledge the natural state of human being.... The founding principles of Rousseau's sociological ideas and political philosophy are clearly identified in the introductory paragraphs of his famous Discourses.... "Jean-Jacques rousseau: The Origins and Effects of Inequality" paper argues thta despite being praised for adoption of an evolutionary approach, rousseau turned the evolution backward....
6 Pages (1500 words) Article

A Reverence for the State of Nature

This concept is important for an understanding of Rousseau's political philosophy.... Locke and rousseau lived in different circumstances, but they both brought a lot to questions of human nature in terms of why people gathered together in societies.... hellip; The basic assumption of the current report is that rousseau and Locke had many similar philosophies, informed by a basic respect for human nature being a positive force that resulted in a social contract with the rest of humanity; however, they also had differences, because rousseau was more positive about the state of nature....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Rousseaus Conception of the General Will and Tyranny

This essay "rousseau's Conception of the General Will and Tyranny" investigates whether rousseau's idea of general will promote tyranny in society.... rousseau was a prominent philosopher who supported the Contract idea or theory that asserted that states develop because of contract between individuals.... nbsp;… Even though, rousseau's concept of the general will is a deliberately oppressive document, it is extremely essential in the creation of a free society....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

The Idea of Freedom and Liberty in Rousseau and Kant

The extent of Rousseau's political philosophy is underscored by it being attributed to the French Revolution and the developments that have accompanied modern sociological, political, and educational thought.... The paper "The Idea of Freedom and Liberty in rousseau and Kant" discusses rousseau's idea of freedom, in light of his statement that man is born free and everywhere he is in chains, the manner in which Kant and rousseau's ideas on liberty have informed a nation's fundamental beliefs and ideas....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Jean Jacques Rousseau and Theodor Adorno in the Development of Social Thought

This paper "Jean Jacques rousseau and Theodor Adorno in the Development of Social Thought" focuses on the fact that in the development of social thought a crucial issue of man's position in the society has always appeared.... In this context, Jean Jacques rousseau proposed a concept of the general will, meaning that each person acted independently but together with others while establishing a state.... o start with, Jan Jacques rousseau (1712-1778) is well-known by his theory of social contract as the basis of the rational state....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Two Types of Liberty

The stance for Locke and rousseau on liberty differs between the two.... rousseau's concept of liberty was developed from political and social theory that makes each citizen in a community obey only himself and remain as free as possible.... rousseau's concept also reveals the necessities that are needed in apolitical conditions for social acts making the citizen realize the freedom they have2.... Liberty and Freedom for a person was a huge topic during the rousseau time....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us