Rousseau vs Paine
Jason Ocaña
Professor Smiley
SOC 320
December 11, 2013
Law and Society: Rousseau and Paine We sometimes take for granted that we humans are just animals. Like many of the animals we study and read about, humans form social groups for safety in numbers, for the opportunity to reproduce, and for the simple reason of not being alone. Law and society among humans are the dynamic cues rules that define interaction between members of these social groups, and which develop and evolve with the group. Jacques Rousseau, in 1754, wrote a discourse on the “Origin of Inequality among Men,” a work that has influenced many of the modern schools of sociological thought today. In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote “Common Sense,” which uses similar rhetoric to describe the purposes of government. These two authors both put forth their own definitions of law and society, which can help us answer what laws’ effects are on society, as well as society’s effects on laws. The main similarity in Rousseau and Paine’s works are their explanation for the need of law and society. Rousseau defines the need for society simply in his “social contract,” an agreement between people in order that the strong and the weak are protected equally within this society. While the existence of strong and weak people are due to natural variations in body type and intelligence, everyone is expected to give up certain freedoms alike in order to belong in the society. Laws define the freedoms that these people must give up, such as the freedom to kill indiscriminately, or to steal. Paine, likewise, describes law as the protection given to each member of the society, which protects him from other members of society and from the society itself. In Paine’s view, society is the product of humans’ collective wants, while government and law are necessary evils that accompany society and protect its members from each other. Both law and society are the products of the human need to form social groups to
Professor Smiley
SOC 320
December 11, 2013
Law and Society: Rousseau and Paine We sometimes take for granted that we humans are just animals. Like many of the animals we study and read about, humans form social groups for safety in numbers, for the opportunity to reproduce, and for the simple reason of not being alone. Law and society among humans are the dynamic cues rules that define interaction between members of these social groups, and which develop and evolve with the group. Jacques Rousseau, in 1754, wrote a discourse on the “Origin of Inequality among Men,” a work that has influenced many of the modern schools of sociological thought today. In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote “Common Sense,” which uses similar rhetoric to describe the purposes of government. These two authors both put forth their own definitions of law and society, which can help us answer what laws’ effects are on society, as well as society’s effects on laws. The main similarity in Rousseau and Paine’s works are their explanation for the need of law and society. Rousseau defines the need for society simply in his “social contract,” an agreement between people in order that the strong and the weak are protected equally within this society. While the existence of strong and weak people are due to natural variations in body type and intelligence, everyone is expected to give up certain freedoms alike in order to belong in the society. Laws define the freedoms that these people must give up, such as the freedom to kill indiscriminately, or to steal. Paine, likewise, describes law as the protection given to each member of the society, which protects him from other members of society and from the society itself. In Paine’s view, society is the product of humans’ collective wants, while government and law are necessary evils that accompany society and protect its members from each other. Both law and society are the products of the human need to form social groups to