Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People by Ethan Putterman
By Ethan Putterman
Including Plato's Republic, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Social agreement is considered some of the most unique examples of utopian political engineering within the historical past of principles. just like the Republic, Rousseau's masterwork is healthier recognized this present day for its author's idiosyncratic view of political justice than its classes on lawmaking or governance in any concrete feel. hard this universal view, Rousseau, legislations and the Sovereignty of the folk examines the Genevan's contributions as a legislator and builder of associations, bearing on his significant rules to concerns and debates in twenty-first century political technological know-how. Ethan Putterman explores how Rousseau's simply country would really function, investigating how legislation will be drafted, ratified and carried out, arguing that the idea of the Social agreement is extra pragmatic and populist than many students think this day.
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Extra resources for Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People
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Sir W. Molesworth, vol. II, London:€John Bohn, 1841 [1642], De Cive, X:x, 136–137. 5 John Stuart Mill, “Considerations on Representative Government,” in Three Essays, Oxford:€Oxford University Press, 1975 [1861], 223. 6 Robert Michels, Political Parties:€A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy, Glencoe, IL:€The Free Press, 1915, 83–84. 7 Hanna Fenichel Pitkin, The Concept of Representation, Berkeley:€University of California Press, 1967, 135–136. 4 42 Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People in ignorance of their actual situation.
In cases where there is no contradiction between opinion and the laws force may prove effective. People will respond to the sword because loss of esteem is not an issue. In this regard, the prince requires the censor’s help only when the laws possibly contradict public opinion (or vice versa) or as a preventative measure for ensuring opinion and the laws remain harmonious. As I discuss in Chapter 5, his assumptions about human nature establish this contradiction and frequent clashes between opinion and the laws to be more the rule than the exception.
E. Vaughan, The Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, I, 431. 20 Rousseau asserts that “the advantages of the social law would be fine if while I were scrupulously observing it toward others, I were sure that all of them would observe it toward me. ” (MG, I:ii, 79/285). ”21 This principle, the general will made concrete, solves the “fundamental problem” of the social compact by revealing how it is possible to both “defend and protect the person and goods of each associate” and remain “as free as before” (CS, I:vi, 138/360).