The Social Contract.

“Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.”

So said the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his 1762 book, The Social Contract.

This work was concerned with political authority, and what is required for state coercion to

be legitimate.

Rousseau began with the premise that living in a society means sacrificing an enormous

amount of personal freedom. He compared it with living in a ‘state of nature’, in

which humans live independent and simple lives, choosing their actions for themselves. Moving

into a society means that people become bound by laws and regulations enforced by others.

Rousseau argued that people sacrifice their individual liberty to the state to obtain

‘civil liberty’, which is not available outside of society.

Rousseau defined civil liberty as behaving morally and rationally within the context

of mutually agreed upon rules. These rules find their ultimate form in what Rousseau

calls the ‘General Will’.

The ‘General Will’ is the will of all a society’s citizens. It is not simply the

sum of their interests, but is instead the interests of society as a whole. At its most

abstract level, the general will is that all people live in harmony.

Freedom and authority are therefore reconciled, because authority ultimately exists to advance

the General Will, people live under laws which they would choose. All have civil and moral

freedom.

To explain civil liberty and its benefits further, let’s imagine a basketball court.

Five players are using the court, playing independently of one another. They are in

a state of nature – friendly, but solitary.

They’re all capable players, showcasing impressive dribbling, shooting and dunking.

But each is mainly concerned with playing the way they feel like, concentrating on tricks

and skills.

So, what happens when a team is formed?

Each player gives up their freedom to do what they want, when they want.

However, together they open up a new range of possibilities. They can win games or competitions,

and become well-known for their talent.

The General Will here is more than just the desire of each individual player to win. It

is the will of the team itself to succeed.

Civil liberty in this example comes from organising practise sessions to improve and work together.

They set these meetings for themselves, in accordance to the General Will of wanting

to succeed as a team.

‘The Social Contract’ inspired political movements in Europe, and played an influential

role in the French Revolution. It remains highly significant today.

A more detailed examination of Rousseau’s ideas can be found in the Macat Analysis.