Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains. So begins Rousseau's treatise on his view that only the people have the right to legislate, as a time when Europe was overflowing with absolute monarchies. In that era, the rulers held supreme power and the people were often oppressed. However, in the 21st century, although we don't have the same situation of absolute monarchies, we still have leaders like Gaddafi who claim special rights, whether it be divine or through lineage, to exert control over the people and their resources.
Reading Rousseau's words always makes me ponder, just what is freedom? Is it freedom for a particular purpose? Freedom from certain restrictions? Or freedom of a specific nature? Everyone will have their own interpretation. One of my favorite lines from this masterpiece is: Slaves, in their bondage, lose everything, even the desire to be free. They love their servitude even as the companions of Ulysses loved their life as brutes. This statement holds a great deal of truth. We can see examples of this in our modern society, such as in the consumerist culture where people seem to be slaves to material possessions. Just look at the shopping malls, filled with people constantly seeking to acquire more. Book Season = Year Round, which implies that the exploration of ideas and the pursuit of knowledge should be a continuous process, just like the concept of freedom, which should always be at the forefront of our minds.
Another excellent book by Rousseau was one that discussed political and governance issues from a sociological perspective. I read this 250-page book without stopping and with great pleasure.
After reading Rousseau's books, I have a very pleasant and enjoyable feeling that I cannot compare with reading any other book.
Rousseau's works offer profound insights into various aspects of society and politics. His ideas and arguments are thought-provoking and have had a significant impact on the development of social and political thought.
The book I mentioned earlier delved deep into the complex issues of political systems and governance, presenting different perspectives and analyses. It made me think about the role of government in society, the rights and responsibilities of citizens, and the challenges and opportunities of modern governance.
Overall, reading Rousseau's books has been a truly enriching experience for me. It has broadened my horizons, deepened my understanding of society and politics, and left me with a lasting impression.
A book rich in definitions is considered one of the most important books of political philosophy. Rousseau's ideas were an influential factor in the French Revolution. Rousseau transferred the passionate emotions that originally belonged only to religion to the realm of civic spirit and love of the country.
The social contract, as Rousseau sees it, is a crucial contract. He imagines that the contract determines the only legitimate source of the law, the only master: the people and the general will. And when the state is established, this will is born from a collective covenant among all citizens.
The people are the master when the law is proclaimed and at the same time they are subject when they obey it. But this subjection does not mean any kind of restriction on freedom. For people enter the founding contract voluntarily and freely.
Rousseau believes that sovereignty cannot be delegated to anyone other than the people. It belongs only to the people and the community, and it returns to them alone. As for the government, which Rousseau calls "the executive body," it is just an agent of the master and has only executive power, and the legislative power monitors the government's actions.
The excellent translation (by Adel Zaiter) and the annotations and marginalia in the (Dar al-Tanwir) edition helped me to understand. The end of the book contains responses to Rousseau and letters from philosophers such as Hume, Kant, Voltaire, and others.