Rousseau on general will. The Ironic Totalitarianism of Rousseau’s “General Will” 2022-10-30

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher who lived in the 18th century. One of his most famous ideas is the concept of the "general will." Rousseau believed that the general will is the will of the people as a whole, rather than the will of any individual or group of individuals.

According to Rousseau, the general will is guided by the common good and is always right. It is the driving force behind a just society and is the source of sovereignty and legitimacy for the state. The general will is not the same as the will of all individuals, as it takes into account the common good rather than the interests of any single individual.

Rousseau argued that the general will is discovered through the process of democratic deliberation. In a democratic society, the people come together to discuss and debate issues that affect the community. Through this process, they arrive at a consensus on what is best for the common good. This consensus becomes the general will, which guides the actions of the state and the laws that govern society.

Rousseau believed that the general will is the foundation of a just society, as it ensures that the needs and interests of the community are prioritized over those of any individual or group. However, he also recognized that there can be conflicts between the general will and the wills of individual citizens. In these cases, Rousseau argued that the general will must always prevail, as it represents the common good.

Overall, Rousseau's concept of the general will is a central idea in his political philosophy and is closely tied to his beliefs about democracy and the role of the state in promoting the common good. It remains a influential and widely debated idea in political theory to this day.

ROUSSEAU’S GENERAL WILL

rousseau on general will

Jean Jacques Rousseau also developed his own version of the social contract. Since man is naturally free and equal and moral in the state of nature, and the social compact is about upholding this freedom and equality, the general will is what is codified through the social compact in tying people together. In this every person, while uniting himself with all, shall obey only himself and remain as free as before. But take away from these same wills the pluses and minuses that cancel each other out, and the remaining sum of the differences is the general will Rousseau, Social Contract, Vol. He believes General Will is necessarily directed at the good since its objective is betterment of all. This would entail that the political class that has been determined as representatives of the general will exercise such sovereignty.

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What Does Rousseau Mean By The General Will?

rousseau on general will

America has been defined by a series of religious awakenings that have become ensconced into its General Will. All these are natural social desires that create conflict rather than cooperation, envy and beefs rather than love and affection. The topic of the general will is always a topic of Rousseauian studies. Bobby Taylor is a senior at Sullivan South High School in Kingsport, Tennessee. The general will can be seen as distinct from a sum of coinciding private interests.

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Rousseau's Argument on General Will

rousseau on general will

How does this occur today? Personal dependence on others is to be avoided by the dependence on the law or the General Will. Apart from voting Rousseau also introduces elections through which people choose their prince and magistrates. Thus while subject to the General Will individual remains free since he obeys none else but himself. Each individual must completely surrender his own interests to the whole and seek only the welfare of the community. Rousseau mentions that man was free from these obligations state of nature when there was no social contract between people.


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Essay on Rousseau’s Theory of General Will

rousseau on general will

. Rousseau is against representative form of government. Rousseau emphasizing the authority of the people has been associated with the rise of democratic revolutions as well as the development of more egalitarian social theories. In contrast, Hobbes believed that the sovereign was the source of all legitimacy, and that the state exists to serve the interests of the sovereign. Is it capable of making mistakes or being wrong? Instead, Rousseau expresses an implicit trust in an original nature of humans that would sense a common general will.

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General Will Overview & Significance

rousseau on general will

An alternative approach that would consider a God who is involved with human affairs might point to that God as the source of the general will. This would ensure that the laws passed were truly in line with the general will, and not just the wishes of those in power. It is a moral, qualitative idea. It is more than just a sum of individual wills and hence a reflection of common good and not interests of a particular group. Each individual must contract with all others to turn over their natural rights to each other individual. Yet, Western nations are hurdling headlong into international socialism with wild abandon supported by grassroots movements such as Antifa.


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General will

rousseau on general will

All worldviews are the same in that God is rejected. What are the features of sovereignty? In a society where a man cannot be free of all dependence, can substitute one form of dependence for another. Instead, what Rousseau says the bond of society is is the general will itself. Ask anyone else and you will get an indefensible answer such as: everyone knows it is wrong; society agrees it is wrong; or it violates natural law, however that may be defined; etc. It may be registered by making difference of individual wills cancelling each other. Also, there is another contradiction in reality, where the state or other institutions should act according to the general will, but they do not.

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The Ironic Totalitarianism of Rousseau’s “General Will”

rousseau on general will

Nevertheless, a people could collectively desire an egalitarian mode of distributing food, and that would be considered a part of the general will. This is the basic principle that he tried to put forward in his writing. Instead, man is just desire. In such states, majority represents the community. A representative legislative body could not determine the general will, because the social contract depended on the unanimous consent of all the governed. Perhaps that's beyond the scope of your question. Rousseau seems to divide between the general will and the will of all.

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Rousseaus Social Contract: A Critical Response

rousseau on general will

A political and moral philosopher during the Enlightenment, Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed provocative ideas about human nature, education, and the desired relationship between individuals and the ideal society. According to Rousseau, the governed enter into a social contract and agree to live by common laws for the sake of their own freedom. It is the bedrock which unites the first two books of the Social Contract, conflating the social contract to be the general will itself. Both are for the good of the community, and there will always be contradictions between community members. One of his most famous ideas is that of the general will. This is a matter of great importance for society, so it is very important that society be as unanimous as possible.

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