Summary
Rousseau begins The Social Contract with
the most famous words he ever wrote: “Men are born free, yet everywhere
are in chains.” From this provocative opening, Rousseau goes on
to describe the myriad ways in which the “chains” of civil society
suppress the natural birthright of man to physical freedom. He states
that the civil society does nothing to enforce the equality and
individual liberty that were promised to man when he entered into
that society. For Rousseau, the only legitimate political authority
is the authority consented to by all the people, who have agreed
to such government by entering into a social contract for the sake
of their mutual preservation.
Rousseau describes the ideal form of this social contract
and also explains its philosophical underpinnings. To Rousseau,
the collective grouping of all people who by their consent enter
into a civil society is called the sovereign, and
this sovereign may be thought of, metaphorically at least, as an
individual person with a unified will. This principle is important,
for while actual individuals may naturally hold different opinions
and wants according to their individual circumstances, the sovereign
as a whole expresses the general will of all the
people. Rousseau defines this general will as the collective need
of all to provide for the common good of all.
For Rousseau, the most important function of the general
will is to inform the creation of the laws of the state. These laws,
though codified by an impartial, noncitizen “lawgiver,” must in
their essence express the general will. Accordingly, though all
laws must uphold the rights of equality among citizens and individual
freedom, Rousseau states that their particulars can be made according to
local circumstances. Although laws owe their existence to the general
will of the sovereign, or the collective of all people, some form
of government is necessary to carry out the executive function of
enforcing laws and overseeing the day-to-day functioning of the state.
Rousseau writes that this government may take different
forms, including monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, according
to the size and characteristics of the state, and that all these
forms carry different virtues and drawbacks. He claims that monarchy
is always the strongest, is particularly suitable to hot climates,
and may be necessary in all states in times of crisis. He claims
that aristocracy, or rule by the few, is most stable, however, and
in most states is the preferable form.
Rousseau acknowledges that the sovereign and the government will
often have a frictional relationship, as the government is sometimes
liable to go against the general will of the people. Rousseau states
that to maintain awareness of the general will, the sovereign must
convene in regular, periodic assemblies to determine the general
will, at which point it is imperative that individual citizens vote not
according to their own personal interests but according to their conception
of the general will of all the people at that moment. As such, in
a healthy state, virtually all assembly votes should approach unanimity,
as the people will all recognize their common interests. Furthermore,
Rousseau explains, it is crucial that all the people exercise their
sovereignty by attending such assemblies, for whenever people stop
doing so, or elect representatives to do so in their place, their
sovereignty is lost. Foreseeing that the conflict between the sovereign
and the government may at times be contentious, Rousseau also advocates
for the existence of a tribunate, or court, to mediate
in all conflicts between the sovereign and the government or in
conflicts between individual people.
Analysis
Rousseau’s central argument in The Social Contract is
that government attains its right to exist and to govern by “the
consent of the governed.” Today this may not seem too extreme an
idea, but it was a radical position when The Social Contract was
published. Rousseau discusses numerous forms of government that
may not look very democratic to modern eyes, but his focus was always
on figuring out how to ensure that the general will of all the people
could be expressed as truly as possible in their government. He
always aimed to figure out how to make society as democratic as
possible. At one point in The Social Contract, Rousseau
admiringly cites the example of the Roman republic’s comitia to
prove that even large states composed of many people can hold assemblies
of all their citizens.
