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What is Rousseau’s central concern in The Social Contract?
To determine what makes political authority legitimate.
What does Rousseau mean by “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains”?
Humans are naturally free in the state of nature, but social institutions impose restrictions that corrupt and enslave them.
How does Rousseau describe the state of nature?
A condition where humans were independent, happy, motivated by self-preservation and pity, and uncorrupted by inequality or vice.
What corrupts human nature, according to Rousseau?
The development of society, private property, and inequality, which breed competition, envy, and pride.
What is Rousseau’s solution to the problem of political legitimacy?
The social contract, where individuals give up all rights to the community, forming a collective sovereign governed by the general will.
What do people lose and gain in the social contract?
They lose natural liberty but gain civil liberty and secure property rights.
What is the “general will”?
The collective will aimed at the common good, distinct from the “will of all” which reflects private interests.
How does Rousseau distinguish the “general will” from the “will of all”?
The general will pursues the common good, while the will of all is the sum of individual self-interests.
Why does Rousseau say individuals may be “forced to be free”?
Because obeying the general will means obeying laws one has willed as a citizen; coercion restores alignment with true freedom.
Why does Rousseau reject representation in law-making?
Sovereignty is inalienable and indivisible; laws must be made directly by the people, not by representatives.
Why is the social contract necessary for freedom?
It reconciles individual freedom with social order, ensuring that laws protect liberty instead of destroying it.
Why is Rousseau’s political theory difficult to apply to large states?
His model presumes small, virtuous communities like Geneva, where direct democracy and civic participation are possible.
What is the lasting significance of Rousseau’s thought?
It challenged Enlightenment rationalism, inspired Romanticism and the French Revolution, reshaped education, and influenced Kant and modern democracy.
Compare Rousseau’s and Hobbes’ ideas of the state of nature.
Hobbes saw it as violent and chaotic, requiring absolute sovereign power; Rousseau saw it as peaceful and free, corrupted only by society.
How does Rousseau reconcile freedom with obedience to law?
By arguing that obeying laws based on the general will means obeying oneself as a rational citizen.
In what sense is the social contract both liberating and restrictive for Rousseau?
It restricts natural liberty but secures civil liberty and moral freedom under laws directed to the common good.
What is Rousseau’s critique of private property?
Property created inequality and conflict, corrupting natural freedom and fueling competition.
Why is Rousseau sometimes called a “founding father of modern democracy”?
Because he emphasized popular sovereignty, equality, and the idea that legitimate authority comes only from the people.