1/29 The Social Contract

Readings for this class

Jean Jacques Rousseau 

& Marquis de Condorcet

in Michael Curtis (ed.), The Great Political Theories, From the French Revolution to Modern Times, pp. 18-40.

Notes on Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), The Social Contract (1762)

What are Rights?

A modern formulation: Rights are entitlements (not) to perform certain actions, or (not) to be in certain states; or entitlements that others (not) perform certain actions or (not) be in certain states. Rights dominate modern understandings of what actions are permissible and which institutions are just. Rights structure the form of governments, the content of laws, and the shape of morality as it is currently perceived. To accept a set of rights is to approve a distribution of freedom and authority, and so to endorse a certain view of what may, must, and must not be done. The Liberal view of governments is that rights precede governments, and so act as a limit on their power. [Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

Human Freedom as central value: Rights as Moral conditions which precede the creation of political society. Defining feature of Liberalism: the primacy of the Individual. (18)

State of Nature - a conceptual device for making sense of the idea that people enter into society in a voluntary, rational manner; SON as a place which lacks morality and politics. 

The State as having a monopoly on the the use of force.

The Social Contract, an ‘act of association’ which is both moral and political

Political Contract: 

An account of the origins of government and our political obligations

(a) as a contract which establishes society (taking individuals out of the ‘state of nature’

(b) as establishing the state (transferring power to a governing entity)

Moral Contract: 

An account of the founding of the moral code which regulates the behavior of citizens and the concept of what it means to be a moral person.

From natural liberty (to do whatever I wish, and grab whatever I can keep) to civil liberty 

Examples of civil rights include the right to vote, the right to a fair trial, the right to government services, the right to a public education, and the right to use public facilities.

The First Amendment to the Constitution protects five basic freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, free- dom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom to petition the government. These civil liberties are the cornerstone of our democracy.

The General Will - the “general welfare” - represents the common interest of all citizens. the problem of factionalism (22)

The social order as creating a new kind of interdependency of otherwise independent individuals. (26)

Liberty and Equality (27) There should be a baseline level of equality to maintain individual autonomy.

The Threats of Corruption (31)

Lack of public spiritedness 

Materialism, avarice, greed

Concept of Consent (33)

Need for religious tolerance for civil peace (34)

Condorcet (1743-1794)

Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress of the Human Mind (1793-4)

White Supremacy (35)

Education as the great equalizer