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Rousseau - Social Contract - Coggle Diagram
Rousseau - Social Contract
Background
enlightenment occurred at the same time - belief that reason and knowledge could slowly bring about the betterment of humankind.
influenced by
voluntarist tradition - supported absolute monarchy -
by entering into society and swearing absolute allegiance to a king can people escape the depravity and brutality of a life in the wild
liberal tradition -
society exists in order to protect certain inalienable rights of its citizens
foremost influence on the intellectual development of the French Revolution
Book 1
Chapter 1 - 5
chains - constraints placed on the freedom of citizens in modern states
legitimate political authority is not found in nature - the only natural form of authority is the authority a father has over a child - force or strength does not equal right
legitimate political authority rests on a social contrast forged between the members of society.
sharp contrast between nature and civil society
it is impossible to surrender one's freedom in a fair exchange - links freedom with moral significance - our actions can only be moral if those actions were done freely
Chapter 6 - 9
to survive in the state of nature, people need to combine forces to survive - solution is the social contract - must surrender themselves unconditionally to the community as a whole
equality of treatment, protection and loss of rights as everyone gives themselves wholly.
community ('people') -> republic or body politic - in its passive form it is a 'state' and in its active role 'sovereign', and in relation to other states a 'power'.
as individuals they are bound to the sovereign, and as members of the sovereign they are bound to other individuals -
individuals need the incentive of law to remain loyal to the sovereign, but the sovereign's benefit is linked to the benefit of it's subjects so it always loyal to their interests.
self-interested individuals might try to enjoy all the benefits of citizenship without obeying any of the duties of a subject - UNWILLING SUBJECTS WILL BE FORCED TO OBEY THE GENERAL WILL
discussion of property - ownership of land is only legitimate is no one else claims that land, if the owner occupies no more land than he needs, and if he cultivates that land for his subsistence
everyone surrenders private property to the sovereign and the general will
community comes first and the individual second - TOTALITARIANISM???
motivated by fear that in modern states where citizens are not actively involved in politics, they are passive witnesses - at the mercy rather than exercising their freedom (republican liberty)
Book 2
Chapter 1 - 5
society can only function to the extent that people have interests in common
Sovereign
inalienable - cannot defer its power to someone else, or be replaced by a smaller group
non-divisible - it always and necessarily expresses the will of the people as a whole, and not of some part
an expression of the general will takes the form of law, whereas the expression of a particular will is at best an application of law
distinction between the general will and the will of all
no one person has all of their interests matched by the general will - if it reflects the largest group of people who can agree on common goods,
it is fractional and no longer the general will
a private ballot is essential to avoid factionalism as it ensures people vote for what themselves think is best for the state, rather than being influenced by others
general and particular distinction is a rule of thumb and not absolute - pardoning is a particular act, but the role of the sovereign, because it must be unanimous
USE THIS TO ARGUE FOR AN INTERPRETATION OF THE GENERAL WILL
sovereign has absolute power, but there is still space for private interests
the state cannot demand more than what is necessary from the citizen, and is only authorised to speak about cases that affect the body politic as a whole
supports the death penalty - sovereign gets to decide due to the claim that wrongdoers essentially violate the social contract and therefore are enemies of the state - treat them like it would in a war
Chapter 6 - 7
there is a universal and natural justice that comes to us from God, but that is not binding - evil people will not obey God's law,
and so we must set up positive, binding laws within society
law definition -
abstract expression of the general will that is universally applicable - the law does not deal with particularities
essentially a record of what the people collectively desire - can only be enacted of the people collectively agree on it, and it must apply to all of them.
as the restraints a people places upon itself, laws are what define their civil freedom
LAWGIVER
someone who writes up a code of law, and knows what is best for society through the general will
must be supremely intelligent, and willing to work selflessly on behalf of a people, must exhibit great insight.
they are outside and above the authority of the sovereign
Difficulty
- finding a lawmaker of genius who does not himself wish to govern; making the people obey the laws.
Chapter 8 - 12
difficult to find people who are suitable for good laws
- a state must receive laws relatively early in its existence, but must be timed perfectly to understand and adopt laws.
the size and type of state flex and change based on the size, resources and population of the body politic
the state must be enjoying a period of peace and plenty for laws to be established, since formation and establishment of laws leave the state momentarily vulnerable.
all laws should pursue the principles of freedom and quality
- equality: wealth should not unbalance the state - no right way to do this because of different needs and interests
classes of laws
political laws - fundamental and main subject
civil laws - deal with individuals in relation with each other or the whole body politic
criminal laws - cases where the law is broken
morals, customs, and beliefs of the people - determine the quality of teh people and the success of the more rigid, written laws
Book 3
Chapter 1 - 2
difference between will and strength
Will - decision to do something - the will of the body politic is expressed through laws/ what they want to happen in society
strength - laws being enforced in society by the executive power of the government - government deals with particular acts and applications of the law, making it distinct from the sovereign, which deals only with general matters.
government
no social contract between it and the people - they surrender their will to the sovereign but not the government, which is at the mercy of the sovereign.
more powerful = more temptation for abusing power
strong government to control a large pop - needs a strong sovereign to control a strong government.
difficulty lies in arranging matters so that the government never acts solely on its behalf, making the general will subordinate to its own will.
Magistrates - work in the government to do admin
have to exercise three different kinds of will - his individual will; will of the government; general will
less magistrates the more they will focus on their particular wills, and be reactive to the people.
more magistrates brings a focus on the general will, but weaker and less active as agreement is harder to reach
Chapter 3 - 7
three types of governments - democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy
very sceptical about the viability of democracy - states by their nature tend towards having a smaller number of people take charge of the affairs of government.
types of aristocracy
natural aristocracy - frequently found in primitive civilizations, where elders and heads of families govern a village or tribe
elective aristocracy -
best kind of aristocracy
- where those with power or riches, or those who are best suited to govern, are placed in charge
hereditary aristocracy -
worst kind of aristocracy
- certain families govern everybody else.
dangers of monarchy
efficient, but can be dangerous, as the corporate will becomes nothing more than a particular will
no government is strictly one of these three forms
Chapter 8 - 11
Freedom is desirable, but it is not possible in every environment
the government of a state does not produce any goods itself, and so there is always a requirement of people to give their surplus to the government - this surplus changes the types of government
the government is inevitably at odds with the sovereign, and the friction between the two can cause the government to degenerate
the state dissolves into anarchy when the government usurps sovereign power
the friction between government and sovereign is bound to destroy all states eventually.
Chapter 12 - 18
in order that sovereign power may maintain itself, it is important that all citizens meet in periodic assemblies
ancient times, cities such as Rome managed this - practically objection avoided, because it is based on laziness
generally, a state should be be larger than a single town
- rotate a capital is several towns are united
more assemblies = more powerful government - ensures that even the lowliest citizen has as much of a voice as the most powerful magistrate
representatives
- a state beings to dissolve when the people value comfort over freedom, and pay representatives and mercenaries rather than serve the state themselves -
sovereignty cannot be represented
slavery and representatives
- Greeks were able to assemble regularly due to slaves doing most of the work - in modern times we are enslaved to elected representatives.
government is instituted not be contract, but by law, and magistrates are not rulers, but officers
- assemblies ensures that the government never usurps sovereign power, and should be written into law to prevent the government taking over control.
Book 4
Chapter 1 - 4
the general will can be silences or sold, but it can never be annihilated -
cannot be changed, but it can be subordinated to other wills
unanimity in popular decisions is a sign of a healthy state - general will is agreed upon by all
sovereignty and original social contract requires unanimity, but all other decisions by the sovereign does not require this
those who take the losing side of a vote are not having their wills counteracted so much as they are found to be mistaken in determining the general will
WE NECESSARY WILL THE NECESSARY MEANS - link to voting in chapter 2
2.5 - you will laws which will lead to your execution if you break them - conscription is linked here
Chapter 5 - 9
tribunate
- business is to maintain a steady balance between sovereign and government and between government and people -
its only purpose is to defend and ensure the safety of the laws
dictatorship
- may be necessary to save the state from collapse - a dictator does not represent the people or the laws; he acts in concert with the general will only to the extent that it is in the interests of all that the state should not collapse.
censor's office
- acts as the spokesman for public opinion - sustains the laws and public morality by sustaining the integrity of public opinion
censorial tribunal (4.7)
- to understand how it works, you have to go back to the different types of laws he defines in (2.12)
4th most important law - morals, customs and above all beliefs
public opinion is that form of law, of which the censor is the minister, and which he on the model of the prince administers on particular cases
it is a part of government, that is concerned with one particular types of law - manages public dis/approval
the censor - guardian of public morals in Rome - we get the term today from this root, but it has changed in how it is administered.
public opinion as law, has to be unanimously willed, and then the tribunal applies it to particular cases on the approval of the sovereign
Civil religion
- the heads of each state were the gods that the state worshipped - each state believing that its gods were responsible for watching over its people
compromise between the "religion of man" and "religion of the citizen" - so long as the sovereign does not disturb the public interest, the people are free to worship whatever and however they please
citizens should also pledge allegiance to a civil religion with a very few basic precepts - the existence of a god, the belief in an afterlife, justice for all, sanctity of the social contract and law, and the prohibition of intolerance
- used to create a harmonious society and prevent friction between members of different religions
dogmas
- must be simple and few in number - different types (positive, monolithic religions [however, this ignores non-monolithic religions and atheists], etc)
all social contract theorists has issues with atheists - without divine punishment, why would they keep promises.
does this to rule out religions that would be incompatible with the social contract, and to add extra reason to the sovereignty of the law
it is an alternative, not a replacement of religion - designed to create an overlapping consensus, as any acceptable religion will share a set of features seen in this civil religion
e.g. tolerance, supremacy of law, etc
it is not an actual religion but a set of values to help uphold the sovereignty of the social contract
QUOTES
1.1
"Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains"
1.7
"forced to be free"
totalitarianism
civil religion
free to be free
censorship
distinction between the sovereign and the government - the real issue is with the sovereign and being mistaken with the general will
can the sovereign be totalitarian? - how are we understanding totalitarianism
if you buy his account of social freedom, then you can only be forced to act in accordance with your own opinion, but if you are mistaken, then are we being forced to be free, or forced to live someone else's will/freedom
can the government be totalitarianism?
if there are no shared interests then there is no state