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Rousseau The Relation Between Slavery And Human Nature

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Rousseau The Relation Between Slavery And Human Nature
PSA 4: Rousseau

Q1 Response: How does Rousseau’s conception of the origin of political society compare with that of Locke?
Rousseau felt that for personal freedom to thrive, there must be a new society governed by a social contract. The separate rights and wills of individuals, collectively, form the general will. The general will of the population is governed by a social contract. Each individual is entitled to freedom and is equal to his peers under the social contract. It is the government’s goal to ensure that the social contract is implemented in a manner that this freedom is provided for all.
Locke agreed with Rousseau’s idea of a social contract but saw that contract as important for providing equality to humans. Locke saw all mankind born into a state of nature. In this state of nature, man had the rights provided by nature; peace, mutual assistance, preservation. The social contract was needed to preserve man’s right to property (the mixing of his labor with the state of nature). Under the social contract, man relinquished his rights to protect himself and punish wrongdoers to the government. The government administered the social contract to uphold and protect the rights and property of men. …show more content…
Rousseau stated that the Ancients (Socrates, Aristotle) wrote that some men are born to be rulers and some men are born to be slaves. According to Rousseau, every man born into slavery was destined from birth to remain a slave. He wrote that slaves have no desire to escape bondage. The first slaves were forced into servitude but their ancestor’s cowardice allowed them to remain in slavery. Rousseau’s position was that to give up one’s freedom is to also be free of moral responsibility. Therefore, a slave has no duty to obey his master but does so only as he is
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