What does Rousseau mean when he says that whoever refuses to obey the general will will be forced to be free?

What does Rousseau mean when he says that whoever refuses to obey the general will will be forced to be free?

So the law is simply an expression of the general will of the people. Everyone helps make the law, so the law must be the general will. Rousseau put it this way: “Whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be constrained to do so by the whole body, which means nothing other than that he shall be forced to be free.”

What is Rousseau’s view on individual and society?

Rousseau proclaimed the natural goodness of man and believed that one man by nature is just as good as any other. For Rousseau, a man could be just without virtue and good without effort. According to Rousseau, man in the state of nature was free, wise, and good and the laws of nature were benevolent.

What Rousseau thinks about individual rights?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau strongly believed in the innate goodness of man and in basic human rights founded upon universal natural law; in addition, he believed that both rulers and the citizens have natural human rights as well as obligations to each other which should be bound in a social contract.

What does Rousseau’s term general will mean?

general will, in political theory, a collectively held will that aims at the common good or common interest. In Du Contrat social (1762; The Social Contract), Rousseau argued that freedom and authority are not contradictory, since legitimate laws are founded on the general will of the citizens.

What does Rousseau mean when he says whoever refuses to obey the general will will be forced to do so by the entire body this means merely that he will be forced to be?

forced to be free
“Whoever refuses to obey the general will will be forced to do so by the entire body; this means merely that he will be forced to be free.” Via this collective nature, the general will is not an expression of the additive total of the private wills of individuals. Rather, the general will speaks as a single voice.

What did Rousseau mean by the social contract?

The agreement with which a person enters into civil society. The contract essentially binds people into a community that exists for mutual preservation. Rousseau believes that only by entering into the social contract can we become fully human. …

What does Rousseau mean when he says force is not the source of right?

Who said “force is not the source of right” and what does it mean? Rousseau believed that it is not right that you should obey someone just because of force and that for the state to be run properly the power it has must be legitimate. Authority cannot use naked force to command obedience.

What does Rousseau mean when he states Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains?

With the famous phrase, “man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains,” Rousseau asserts that modern states repress the physical freedom that is our birthright, and do nothing to secure the civil freedom for the sake of which we enter into civil society.

Why was Jean-Jacques Rousseau important to society?

Rousseau, as being an important social contract theorist, believes that people are the ones who are makers of law as well as the subjects of law, and therefore the people’s sovereignty is guaranteed by the society’s contract which is created.

Why is the general will always right according to Rousseau?

According to Rousseau, the general will is always right and there is no need to have the general will unanimous in order to preserve its generality. On the other side, it is essentially to count all the votes because every formal elimination of votes breaks the rule of generality.

What does Rousseau mean by a legitimate contract?

By legitimate contract Rousseau means that the legitimacy is not possible if the sovereignty is not kept by the people and “the sovereign must therefore be identical with the citizens themselves.”

Why was Jean Jacques Rousseau an Enlightenment icon?

In conclusion, Jean Jacques Rousseau undoubtedly belongs to philosophical icons of Enlightenment Era and Rationalism and not just because his thoughts were by many boisterously welcomed but also because they were by many perseveringly rejected.