Modern Europe

Modern Europe

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Modern Europe

Jean Jacques Rousseau claims that all authorities are not from the nature it comes from the tradition that human-made. When people live together, they get power on other but not fully. A man can be isolated, but he can't force everybody around him to do the same. The fundamental problem that he discussed is the power that an individual has on others. A ruler thinks that he has authority on everyone living in his region. Parents think they can force their children and there is nothing wrong in it. Rousseau believes that human need to reached to a point where resistance power of nature preservation is more than the access at the disposal person's maintenance in a state. The problem arises when people live in group or communities and communicate with each other. The main problem is to identify the association which works for the interest and protection of every single person rather than personal interest or profit. A common force which allows people to live united even if there is the power of one person all other people may obey him, but they get rights to live freely as it is difficult to achieve your interest without neglecting other's interest.

When a person born, he enters in a social circle where he surrenders his rights to the society, and before he becomes able to make decisions community already start governing him according to the general will. The general will is a truth that works on the principle of the betterment for society or community. This general will can be indicated by the common sense of personal interest and goals. As Rousseau is agreed to the concept of general will because it is beneficial for the community. This general will make a person superior because without general will a person thinks of his self-interest, passion, aim, and appetites while general will make him think for the decision that is committed to the general good for the whole community. He refused Lockean principle which claims that every individual has rights which can be against the state. This is not possible because community works with the mutual interest and self-interest can destroy the body politic. Therefore we can say that freedom consists of two significant components; one is goodwill and second is obedience to laws. Obedience to general will can bring citizen commitment to the general good as a whole.

When people get adequate knowledge and act with accordance to that information, held deliberations with no communication to the other people, the grand collection of differences leads to the general will, and the result of this general will is always good. When people start living in a group, they communicate with specific relation to the society or state when one of the relationships becomes greater that prevail over the remaining. At this moment the difference becomes wider. The differences whether individually or combined no more turn into goodwill. To express goodwill in such a society, there should be no partial society to avoid the self-interest. This system was established by Lycurgus. Rousseau claims about the people constitution as a communal body that makes unlimited authority towards citizenry create his image as a precursor to modern dictatorship. On the other hand his view of goodwill. General will alone not bring prosperity. This is because the general will can be good from one perspective, but it is not possible that thinking or general will is always the same for all the people. Therefore, avoiding self-interest and thinking for social good and collective benefits was the concept that makes him the champion of democracy.