Jean-Jacques Rousseau, writing in mid-18th century Geneva, discusses in The Social Contract several types of government and societies that depend on them, scorning and praising elements of each. Overall, he seems rather cynical about the possibilities of a decent society existing where the people and the government maintain an optimal state of equilibrium, but takes care not to criticize or admire one political system too closely–partly, perhaps, to avoid controversy and imprisonment or exile (which didn’t work, by the way) but also to keep his arguments logical and well-formed. He always emphasizes the generalizations, exceptions, or complexities associated with particular systems (e.g. monarchy), and rarely mentions contemporary examples when Sparta or Rome will suffice.
The Social Contract was published in 1762, and Rousseau passed away in 1778. His ideas were purportedly influential in the 1789 French Revolution (although the majority of the participants were illiterate), and it is typical to wonder what Rousseau would have thought of the execution of King Louis XVI, the formation of the National Assembly, and the rise of Maximilien Robespierre (himself an ardent supporter of Rousseau’s theories). During this year’s turbulent political season in the United States, I find myself wondering if Rousseau (who most of the Founding Fathers undoubtedly read) would have endorsed the system Americans have been so proud of.
Organikos 