The Origin of Civil Society
Jean Jacques Rousseau
The Social Contract-or
• “It is my wish to
inquire, whether it
be possible, within
the civil order, to
discover a legitimate
and stable basis of
Government.”
“Man is born free, and everywhere he
is in chains.”
• People think they are masters of others, but
really just equally enslaved.
• People feel constrained to obey a “master,”
but the sooner they “shake off “ this “yoke,”
the better.
“Of Primitive Societies”
• Oldest form of society is the family.
• Father and son eventually “return to a condition of
independence.”
• Father—monarchy/ Child—people
• Father—mother country/ Child—colony
• “As soon as a man attains the age of reason he
becomes his own master.” Extended metaphor
• It is not human nature to be enslaved.
“Of the Right of the Strongest”
• “However strong a man, he is never strong
enough to remain master always, unless he
transform his Might into Right, and Obedience
into Duty.
• Like Jefferson, Rousseau believed that we have
obligation to only the LEGITIMATE powers of
the states---that might doesn’t always mean
right.
“Of Slavery”
• Agreement is the only natural social contract.
• Monarchs will say that he or she can
guarantee peace for its people; however, wars
fought in the name of a monarch often cost
more lives.
• Rousseau believes that being born free is selfevident and unalienable; if man doesn’t fight
for his own liberty, he renounces his
humanness.
War…
• “is something that
occurs not between
man and man, but
between States.”
• Should not produce
prisoners of war or
slaves.
“Of the Social Pact”
• Why is there government to begin with? How is it
formed?
• A “concentration of powers can be brought about only as
a consequence of an agreement reached between
individuals.”
• A social compact should protect the person and property
of each individual involved and allow the person free will.
• Any violation of the agreement should render the
compact void and allow the parties to revert to their
natural liberty.
The strength of any governing body is
only as good as each individual.
“Of the sovereign”
• As a member of the people of a nation, a ruler
owes a duty to each citizen and the nation as
a whole.
• A ruler should earn the loyalty and respect of
its governed body in order to assure the
people’s duty.
“Of Real Property”
• “All men have a natural right to what is
necessary to them.” Sounds like “life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness,” doesn’t it?
• Sovereigns often try to control the land to
control its people. Colonization?
• In the end, a social contract should ensure
equality.
Essay Question
• Discuss the principles that Thomas Jefferson in
The Declaration of Independence shares with
Jean Jacques Rousseau in The Origin of Civil
Society. Compare and contrast specifically the
fundamental demands of the Declaration of
Independence with Rousseau’s conceptions of
liberty and independence.