"Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains."
Among Rousseau’s various contributions to political philosophy, one of the most interesting and important views derived from the Discourse on the Origins of Inequality and the Social Contract. Rousseau’s famous quote, “man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains,’ argues that all men are born as free individuals, but it comes with autonomy and being in control of oneself. This is the opening line for Rousseau’s Social Contract Theory and is often quoted in the French revolution.
In the Discourse on the Origins of Inequality, Rousseau distinguished the different types of freedom men possess in prehistoric and modern society. In prehistoric society, men live in a state of nature. Natural men, defined by Rousseau, are free to do whatever their desires and impulses take them. Their actions are not guided nor limited by reasons. They live freely in the forest, just roaming around. As society progresses into civilization, men’s freedom thus adapted to modern society. Even though modern society brought us technology and tools, along with cities and social institutions, it also allowed inequality, violence, and misery. Why? Because the aforementioned creations granted overwhelming power and rights to a small group of population. Rousseau refers to this reign of inequality as the “right of the strongest.” This inequality led to the destruction of the happiness and freedom that originally existed in the state of nature. Although not ideal, Rousseau believes this transition is, as a matter of fact, very necessary considering human nature being very innovative and progressive. These powerful people claimed lands and goods that belonged to every man as their own and frauded common men into acknowledging and accepting them as rulers. Rousseau agrees with John Locke that no individual should ever, in any circumstance, surrender their natural rights to a dictator.
Rousseau, therefore, proposed his Social Contract Theory to argue that men can collectively enter into a civil society without inequality, unhappiness, and violence while maintaining their individual freedom. This is what he refers to as the general will, and this is a distinctive characteristic of human beings. In other words, men would enter into a social contract in which they give up all of their rights, but to the entire community of people, or sovereign, instead of a dictator. Only the general will guarantees liberty in the form of civil freedom. The sovereign expresses the general will along with the laws of the state for the sole purpose of the public good. Since only all the citizens collectively can be sovereign, the general will cannot be determined by elected representatives, resulting in an equal distribution of power. Sovereign is immune to separation and ensures democracy, at least on a small scale, like the city of Geneva as Rousseau suggested. In essenence, every citizen is entitled to vote to voice general will and make laws of the state. Rousseau seems to be an advocate for direct democracy in which citizens equally share the responsibility of making the laws of the state.
The Social Contract Theory demonstrates a clear distinction between the freedom given to men in the civil state and the state of nature. They are in direct opposition to each other. While the state of nature provides men physical freedom in which they are free to do whatever they desire; the civil state grants men civil freedom in which they sacrifice their physical freedom to become rational and moral agents in society. Rousseau claims that we are only fully human in the civil state by collectively entering the social contract. The social contract is binding and Rousseau recommends the death penalty for anyone who violates the terms of the social contract. The citizens, as long as they remain a resident of the civil state, must obey the general will in exchange for security, freedom, and justice. The social contract is an agreement that guarantees citizens to decide the laws by which they are ruled. Rousseau’s claim brings out an interesting point that, to his perspective, humans are intrinsically compassinate and altruistic to the point that we are willing to sacrifice their physical liberty for civil liberty.
One interesting aspect of Rousseau’s Social Contract Theory is that the civil state still has a government but it merely consists of officials who receive their orders from the general will of the people. A government is still needed to enforce the laws legislated by the sovereign. Rousseau seems to favor aristocracies among all forms of government. It might appear contradictory to the equal distribution of power argument made by Rousseau if a government is in place. Even Rousseau admits that although the government is separate from the sovereign, the friction between the government and the sovereign could ultimately destroy the civil state as a whole. This is interesting. It seems like the democracy Rousseau envisioned himself is not sustainable in his opinion. He did offer some potential solutions to address this issue–the establishment of a tribute–but I feel that it weakened his Social Contract Theory by arguing brief dictatorships are necessary in the case of urgency,
I think the Social Contract Theory places a delicate balance between liberty and equality.
General Will
The will of the sovereign that aims at common good.
Social Contract
The agreement that comes with the civil state.
Sovereign
All the citizens acting collectively.
State of Nature
A state in which citizens are free to do whatever they want with their desires and impulses; the oppsite of civil state. Provides physical freedom.
Civil State
A state in which we enter into when we agree to live in a community guided by reason; the opposite of the state of nature. Provides civil freedom and the social contract.
Common Good
Good in the best interests of society as a whole.