Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the instances of paradox, how paradox arises, what role it plays and why it exists in the political thought of Rousseau. In order to do this, the paper begins by examining paradox in "Du Contrat Social" (1762), with reference to Discours sur les origines et fondements de l'Inegalite (1755). The paper then turns to the article on economie politique (1755), "Projet de Constitution pour la Corse" (1765) and "Considerations sur le Gouvernement de Pologne" (1772). The paper concludes that a comparison between the practical and theoretical writings of Rousseau allows us to explore the differences between them, which then reveals other paradoxes that need to be addressed.

From the Paper:

"Rousseau introduces two necessities to attempt to resolve this paradox - enlightenment and education of the people, and ability to make free decisions without influence of social groups. Foreseeable emergence of social groups will cause groups of individuals to refuse to recognise the general will, resulting in inequality. Moral education and physical limitations of wealth are therefore necessary. Althusser refers to these two principles as 'flight forward in ideology' and 'regression in reality/economy' . An ideological approach can restore the particular will to act in favour of the community by teaching morality and conscience, in order to denature primitive impulses and transform personal desire into man's 'realization of himself as a rational and moral being who is fulfilling all the higher possibilities of his nature.' This principal allows Rousseau to introduce the Legislator to act as an enlightened leader who ultimately overrides human nature - 'Celui qui ose entreprendre d'instituer un peuple doit se sentir en etat de changer... la nature humaine'. The Legislator must also not be prone to the same pitfalls as the public and he must not mislead them. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, OEuvres Completes I (Paris : Gallimard, 1959).
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, OEuvres Completes II (Paris : Gallimard, 1964).
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, OEuvres Completes III (Paris : Gallimard, 1964).
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, OEuvres Completes IV (Paris : Gallimard, 1969).
• Althusser, Louis, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx (Paris : Presses Universitaires de France, 1959).

More papers on Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

• Book Review # 108936 : "Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "The Social Contract"
• Book Review # 118582 : "Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "La Nouvelle Heloise"
• Essay # 60953 : "Jean-Jacques Rousseau"
• Essay # 51763 : "The Life and Works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau"

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