Gregory
S. Brown
895 – 4181; gbrown@unlv.edu
M, W, F 10;30 - 11:20; CBC C316
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Social contract
family is "protoype of political society"
state of nature: "right of the strongest"
slavery is only by force, always transient; cannot alienate oneself
"liberty ...is one's dignity as a man"
Social compact: "alienation of each to all," preserves liberty by forming a "public person": city, republic, sovereign
private will [self-interest] and general will [common interest] are reconciled; each enjoys his rights and fulfills his duties simultaneously in a "Civil state" ["real property" is agreed to, rather than enforced]
loses "natural liberty ...unlimited right to everything that tempts him' and gains "civil liberty ...private ownership" without withdrawing from others, creates:
"a moral and legitimate equality"