Rousseau and the Social Contract
Jean- Jaques Rousseau was born in Geneva (Switzerland) in 1712 and died in Ermenonville (France) in 1778. He was a Swiss philosopher, he also placed among the great thinkers of the Enlightenment in France. On the other hand, it should be added that his political and social ideas preluded his French revolution, his literary sensitivity anticipated Romanticism, and for the new concepts he introduced into education, he is considered the father of modern pedagogy.
Without further delay I will start performing an analysis of the book, writing about everything the most important in my opinion. Rousseau divides his work into four books. I will start exposing the first and then I will present the second ending with a conclusion and personal opinion.
In the first book Rousseau begins by stating that man is free by nature, but that, in reality, he is imprisoned by the social circumstances that surround him. With this he refers to the fact that a person’s duty is to obey, but he also does not deny that he has the right to face that obligation.
He deduces that every company is an agreement, which has two superiors and subordinates, that is, some will send and others will obey. But he also exposes with respect to this phrase that the right to "enslave" others does not mean the granting of a force superior to the rest, since slavery is not part of social nature, and less, of human nature.
One of the most important parts of this first book is when he talks about the impossibility of individual survival. Rousseau states that to achieve survival, an alliance is needed, that is, to join forces. The objective of all this is to achieve the common good (this is the social pact), once this alliance is broken each component of the group returns to its primitive nature. When these alliances are broken, it is because there are within their own interests.
Finally, in relation to this first book, it exposes the idea that the sovereignty of each individual who according to him is in society, on the other hand, said individual does not have to be in favor of everything with respect to society, that is, he is freedom In that aspect, but, nevertheless, it cannot attribute personal interests in the result of the common good.
In the second book he exposes numerous ideas. In the first place he begins by saying that only the general will is able to direct the forces of the State, whose purpose is to pursue the common good. A state is correct when the common good pursues, and not the individual, since if there would be no numerous and continuous differences. This general will indicated.
Therefore, what the social pact seeks is a sovereignty that is inalienable and indivisible and that has absolute power over the conformants of the political body that is found. However, Rousseau also emphasizes the "personal sensibilities" of each human being, since, although they make up the community they are independent and private people, in any case, said community must only appropriate what is beneficial for all, without however, if they will ask everyone to reason thinking about the public benefit and that at no time only seek the benefit.
Once the general will and the political body located in the power are set, this must be operated, for this it will use the law that will be chosen by the people as a whole through the same sovereignty, that is, the law will be generally and therefore they will be destined for the population. As a consequence of the use of the law, the figure of the legislator will immediately arise who according to Rousseau must be an extraordinary man who should only be able to send the laws in the respective, since if he would not be immorally correct. Parallel to the role of the legislator, the people must adopt a receptive role with respect to the laws that will be imposed on them. The objectives of any legislation according to Rousseau should be freedom and equality. These laws must be applied according to the type of country, that is, they will have to adjust to the particularities of each country.
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