Author Bio: Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer during the Scientific Revolution. His philosophies influenced the American and French Revolutions. His main philosophies were that of humans being naturally good, and society corrupting them and of a government gaining sovereignty by the consent of the people.
Date/Context: From 1762, in the middle of the Age of Reason when new ideas were emerging concerning science and government. The Social Contract is a novel exploring the best way to set up a political community. Rousseau was a revolutionary thinker, like Diderot and Montesquieu, therefore he can be relied upon to accurately investigate the new ideas and issues of the time.
Summary: Rousseau outlines the idea that the Social Contract is the only way to solve the problem of finding a "form of association which will defend and protect with the whole aggregate force the person and the property of each individual" (76). Each individual gives up some liberty willingly when the Social Contract is created, but that that is just part of the process in order to gain a hopefully effective system. Each person "gives himself to ALL, but not to any INDIVIDUAL" and can at any point return to the original state of nature. The body politic can not bind itself to anything or anyone other than the whole, and when one part is attacked, the whole is attacked. In conclusion, all individuals come together to form a sovereign, and create a government set to work for the good of all.
Key Quotation: "We each of us place, in common, his person, and all his power, under the supreme direction of the general will; and we receive into the body each member as an indivisible part of the whole" (78).
This was very overview on the social contract. Using great detail and great explanation, like i had previously said god job.
ReplyDeleteAnother quote to consider: "To prevent the social compact from becoming an empty formula, it tacitly includes this premis, which alone can give effect to the others...for this is the condition which guarantees his absolute personal independence to every citizen of the country...which alone renders civil engagements legal."
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