Jean-Jacques Rousseau Personal Background

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born on June 28th 1712, in Geneva, a French-speaking city-state within Switzerland. He received little formal education and, in 1728, left Geneva to live an unsettled existence, travelling throughout Europe. Although mainly self-taught, Rousseau became a respected novelist, composer, musicologist, and botanist, in addition to his most commonly recognized contribution, as a moral, political and educational philosopher. He first came to prominence as a writer when his essay, Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, was awarded first prize in a competition set by the Academy of Dijon in 1750. He followed this, in 1755, with his Discourse on Inequality and, in 1762, with both Emile, which stated his philosophy on education, and the Social Contract, which remains one of the most influential works of political theory ever to have been written (McLean, 1996).

Main Idea

At the core of Rousseau's philosophy is his belief that, although man is born weak and ignorant, in a state of nature, he is also born free and virtuous whereas, when forming a society, he becomes corrupted, enslaved and dishonest. However, accepting that we can never return to the primitive, state of nature Rousseau insists that, individual natural rights and freedoms must be safeguarded through the creation of a social contract. To achieve this, Rousseau advocates that the only legitimate form of government is a direct democracy, in which each individual has the right to participate in decision making, and each has an equal voice. In this manner, according to Rousseau, each individual remains as free after joining society as he or she was before, but with the benefit of the protection and security that are provided by being a member of a collective body.

Rousseau views

This means giving up individual rights for the betterment of the collective group, which in turn, will protect their individual freedom, and ensure equality and justice for all.
Rousseau also maintains that, on occasions, an individual's personal interests might be secondary to the good of the whole community. This general will is crucial to the success of Rousseau's vision of the state and, as such, any individual that refuses to obey the general will, must be constrained to do so. According to Rousseau, this 'forcing to be free' is in the interest of both the community and of the individual (Crocker, 1967).

Supporting Ideas

Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains" (Crocker, 1967). This is the observation that underpins the political and moral philosophy of Rousseau. From enjoying the liberty and innocence of the state of nature, mankind has been poisoned, corrupted, and enslaved by the societies and governments that he has created. The natural rights and freedoms of human beings have been replaced with social conventions and social rights, which have often led to inequality, and enforced obedience. As Rousseau points out, only the insane would give up their rights and freedoms, even to a King or a despot who promises much in return. All human beings enter the world free and equal, so to "renounce one's liberty is to renounce...the rights and also the duties of humanity" (Crocker, 1967).

As Rousseau concedes, the human race would quickly perish unless it organized itself into some form of society or state. In his social contract, Rousseau aims to ensure that, once the individuals commit to this state, or government, in return for collective security and protection, they retain their personal rights and liberty, and they are able…