1. Rousseau’s “Social Contract”
A.K.A. ‘How to Fix France...Maybe!’
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2. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Born 1712, Died 1778
Most popular and influential of the
‘philosophes’ prior to and during
the French Revolution!
Published “The Social Contract” in
1762.
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3. Rousseau’s ‘Problems’
Can there be legitimate political authority?
How is freedom possible in civil society?
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4. A Few Assumptions...
Our Nature = total physical freedom, no
restraints on behaviour
T be human, we must be active in a ‘society’
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Each member of society must enter into a
‘social contract’ with all of the others
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5. What is a ‘social contract’?
the agreement through which each person
enters into civil society
The contract binds people into a community
that exists for mutual preservation.
We sacrifice physical freedom to gain civil
freedom (rational thought!)
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6. In the political sphere...
Everyone will be ‘free’ because everyone will
forfeit the same amount of freedom and
receive the same amount of responsibility.
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7. Administration: T Parts
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sovereign - the voice of the law and absolute
authority within the state. In Rousseau’s
words, the sovereign is “the people speaking
together” (GENERAL WILL)
government - charged with application of
the law toward particular matters
(PARTICULAR WILLS)
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8. Quotes
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is
in chains.”
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9. Quotes
“The Sovereign, having no force other
than the legislative power, acts only by
means of the laws; and the laws being
solely the authentic acts of the general
will, the Sovereign cannot act save when
the people is assembled.”
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10. Quotes
“Every law the people have not ratified
in person is null and void -- is, in fact,
not a law.”
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11. Quotes
“The legislative power belongs to the
people, and can belong to it alone.”
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12. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
“For a young people to be able to relish sound
principles of political theory and follow the
fundamental rules of statecraft, the effect would
have to become the cause; the social spirit, which
should be created by these institutions, would have
to preside over their very foundation; and men would
have to be before law what they should become by
means of law.”
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13. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
How can liberty, equality, fraternity be
written into law if man does not already
possess these values/attributes? If the
French people have NEVER experienced
these things before, how equipped are
they to institute them ?
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