7 times Rousseau put inequality in society ON BLAST
Isabella Borgesi
1) Rousseau believed that society is naturally selfish
It is obvious that when put into a society with competition and survival, someone’s own
needs and wants will definitely come before another person’s. Society has taught us to follow
these selfish norms. Because society has taught us these ways, society is naturally selfish, not the
people. However, the people will follow and become selfish as well. This still happens in 2021.
We have been taught to care about ourselves before anyone else, leading to an overall selfish
society.
“Others again, beginning by giving the strong authority over the weak, proceeded directly to the
birth of government, without regard to the time that must have elapsed before the meaning of the
words authority and government could have existed among men. Every one of them, in short,
constantly dwelling on wants, avidity, oppression, desires and pride, has transferred to the state
of nature ideas which were acquired in society; so that, in speaking of the savage, they described
the social man.”
2) Rousseau believed that property and inequality were correlated
Rousseau believes that there is a direct correlation between property and inequality. I
definitely agree with this idea. If personal property was never created, there would be less wars,
crimes, murders, etc. In today's world, we see how property shows off inequality in America.
The rich and powerful have the biggest houses in the world. The poor either live on the streets or
in very small apartments. Giving people the power of property could benefit society, but during
Rousseau’s time, it led to a lot of chaos and inequality in society.
“The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying This is
mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society.
From how many crimes, wars and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not
any one have saved mankind, by pulling up the stakes, or filling up the ditch, and crying to his
fellows, "Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of
the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody."
3) Rousseau believes there is inequality in the education system
Rousseau shows the inequality within the education system with his thoughts and ideas.
In the education system, those who have more education are seen to be more intelligent and
knowledgeable, making them more powerful. This is very unfair to people in society that do not
have the means to receive a proper education. Going off of the ideals from this time period, this
would mean that people that are uneducated will never be as powerful or intelligent as someone
who is able to attend school. People that cannot obtain education will never be able to catch up
with those who can. People in 2021 that cannot afford college are looked down upon. Education
is not for everyone. Some people find their passions in other job opportunities. Lack of education
does not make one person less powerful than another. These ideas create a continuous sense of
inequality in society and puts people who are less fortunate at a disadvantage in life.
“It is the same with the powers of the mind; for education not only makes a difference between
such as are cultured and such as are not, but even increases the differences which exist among
the former, in proportion to their respective degrees of culture...it is easy to conceive how much
less the difference between man and man must be in a state of nature than in a state of society,
and how greatly the natural inequality of mankind must be increased by the inequalities of social
institutions.”
4) Rousseau discusses the correlation between government and inequality
Rousseau suggests that the government in itself comes from inequality prior to its
establishment. He discusses the idea that if a society had one person they all looked up to, they
would then use a monarchy when creating their government. If there were a select few people
that were looked up to, an aristocracy was created, and so on. Rousseau recognizes that
government itself is a form of inequality due to their being people who are seen as “higher”.
Government overall still has a sense of inequality still to this day. The people in powerful
government positions will always have more power over the citizens. This can be good in some
ways because they can make real change, but if they abuse this power, it will only hurt society
overall.
“The different forms of government owe their origin to the differing degrees of inequality which
existed between individuals at the time of their institution. If there happened to be any one man
among them pre-eminent in power, virtue, riches or personal influence, he became sole
magistrate, and the State assumed the form of monarchy. If several, nearly equal in point of
eminence, stood above the rest, they were elected jointly, and formed an aristocracy. Again,
among a people who had deviated less from a state of nature, and between whose fortune or
talents there was less disproportion, the supreme administration was retained in common, and a
democracy was formed.”
5) Rousseau stated that people without power have to conform to the rules that powerful
people make
In everyday society, the government has tended to create an unfair environment. Those
with power create the rules of society and those without power have to follow those rules.
Therefore, those without power do not get a say in what they truly want or need to achieve their
personal success and happiness if it contradicts with the rules set in place by the government. It
is also unfortunate that those with the power tend to create rules for society that only benefit their
wants and needs.
“Without entering at present upon the investigations which still remain to be made into the
nature of the fundamental compact underlying all government, I content myself with adopting
the common opinion concerning it, and regard the establishment of the political body as a real
contract between the people and the chiefs chosen by them... The magistrate, on his side, binds
himself to use the power he is entrusted with only in conformity with the intention of his
constituents, to maintain them all in the peaceable possession of what belongs to them, and to
prefer on every occasion the public interest to his own.”
6) Rousseau believes we need to create a society where the common goal is happiness
In Rousseau’s mind, the best way to run a society is to have everything geared toward
overall happiness. In his society, everyone should be working towards making society as a whole
happy. He is obviously against society gearing towards the needs of the individual and their
individual happiness. Individuals can be happy on their own, but society will not succeed unless
everyone is happy or on the road to happiness. This explains why he is very against society being
geared toward every single person pursuing their individual happiness.
“I should have wished to be born in a country in which the interest of the Sovereign and that of
the people must be single and identical; to the end that all the movements of the machine might
tend always to the general happiness.”
7) Rousseau says it is very important to love and respect our fellow citizens
Rousseau believed that the only way for there to be a truly equal society was for everyone
to love and respect everyone in the community. This is very true, and still holds true in 2021. If
members of society do not treat everyone else in the community with love and respect, society
overall will never reach or achieve full equality. In 2020, we saw a lot of hate in America
between members of our society. This hate led to a major divide in our country before the 2020
election. Society, in this case America, will never have peace and equality if we do not show
love and respect to the people around us.
“They will respect the sacred bonds of their respective communities; they will love their
fellow−citizens, and serve them with all their might”