Rousseau's Social Contract: Foundations of a Just Society

Critique of Progress and the Social Contract Idea

In his critique of society, emerging from the idea of progress, Jean-Jacques Rousseau argues that it is impossible to return to the idyllic state of nature. As a solution to the appearance and artificiality to which society leads, he proposed the idea of the Social Contract.

Purpose and Foundations of the Social Contract

This contract represents the basis for establishing a legitimate society, designed to foster justice and happiness among its citizens, thereby excluding inequality. It aims to overcome the shortcomings of previous states (the state of nature and corrupted civil society) by promoting a social model where individuals live in harmony, with their human integrity encompassing both feeling and reason.

Rousseau's Unique Contractualist Perspective

With this idea, Rousseau continues the contractualist tradition regarding the legitimacy of both laws and the State. However, he separates himself from authors who argue that these covenants are based on submission to power and a mere semblance of equality.

Core Objectives of the Social Agreement

The objectives of this agreement are:

• To recover the ideal of individual freedom and equality.
• To maintain the benefits derived from civil society.

From Individual to Citizen: The General Will

Here, each individual makes a pact with others (a partnership of equals), forming a social body of individuals who voluntarily unite to overcome the difficulties of survival. Individuals waive all their rights in favor of the general will, thereby becoming citizens (social beings) and members of a social and moral body that defends the common good over individual interests.

Popular Sovereignty and Direct Democracy

This general will involves the renunciation of rights from the state of nature, and it is governed by the laws that the people give themselves, so that sovereignty resides within them. Hence, the sovereign is the people, and the government is merely an executor of the laws that the people give themselves, thus constituting a direct democracy.

Defining Characteristics of Rousseauvian Sovereignty

This sovereignty is characterized by being:

• Inalienable
• Non-delegated
• Indivisible (it opposes the division of powers)
• Infallible
• Absolute

General Will vs. Sum of Individual Wills

This general will differs from the sum of all individual wills and emerges as a common interest, which is also presented as moral.

The Civil State: A Path to Human Perfectibility

Therefore, the social or civil state created from the contract is more perfect or superior to the state of nature, as humans can be perfected and become moral by prioritizing the general will over particular desires.

Achieving Justice, Morality, and Happiness

According to Rousseau, in this new model of society, there will be no injustice or moral evil, and it will be possible to achieve the perfectibility of human beings and their happiness.