Of course, the most common defense of politicians is that lobbyists never actually receive political favors for their contributions, but merely enjoy greater "access" to voice their concerns to legislators. Obviously, this is a very convenient fiction that completely violates Rousseau's suggestion. The simple truth is that lobbyists, such as the large tobacco companies, prescription drug manufacturers, and the National Rifle Association (to name just a few of numerous examples) contribute large sums of money to political campaigns and provide every conceivable "perk" allowed by law to legislators for the express purpose of influencing legislators to support laws...

As bad as it is for government authorities to misuse established laws, Rousseau points out that it is infinitely worse for private interests actually to be able to corrupt the process of making law; the ultimate result is a society where improvement or change is virtually impossible. Finally,
Rousseau drives his point home by reminding the reader that the mere fact that government is required in the first place implies that members elected to positions of power are corruptible; and people who would never misuse authority would never need to be governed.