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Monday, November 9, 2009

"The Social Contract" by Jean Jacques Rousseau,1762


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Whatever rights and responsibilities the rulers and citizens have in a state are derived from some agreement ; no social right is derived from nature.
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In a state of nature men live to preserve themselves ;
to make cooperation possible and to assure common security,
states are instituted by social contracts.
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According to the contract,when a man places himself under the control of a sovereign,he is placing himself under the control of himself and his fellow citizens,for a sovereign exists in order to safeguard the citizens.
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The sovereign is limited to the making of general laws ;
he cannot pass judgment upon individuals.
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As a result of the joining of wills by social contract,a general will,
distinguishable from a collection of individual wills,comes into being.
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The ideal government is a small,elected group ;
and the ideal state is small enough to allow the citizens to know one another.
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