![]() ![]() Instead, under Rousseau’s social contract, the people surrender some of their rights to the “general will,” which is the only truly legitimate form of authority. ![]() In addition to characterizing this contract as a form of “slavery,” Rousseau rejects it on practical terms, as the actions of monarchs often tend toward costly, self-aggrandizing wars and predatory domestic policies. Rousseau is deeply critical of the Hobbesian social contract, in which the people give up all their natural rights to a sovereign ruler or rulers in return for domestic tranquility and protection from foreign invaders. He rejects earlier models espoused by philosophers like Niccolò Machiavelli, who believed authority is rooted in strength, in other words “might makes right.” Rousseau also refutes Thomas Hobbes, who believed that the most effective form of authority is a strong, central monarch. In the first of four books, Rousseau poses the fundamental problem he hopes to address with his treatise: how to build a durable and effective political state without excessively curtailing the natural liberties of humankind. This study guide refers to The Social Contract and Discourses published in 1968 by Devoted Publishing. ![]()
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