“…The moment a people allows itself to be represented, it is no longer free: it no longer exists.” A “pure democracy” interpretation of Rousseau could use this statement about representatives as evidence that The Social Contract is a manifesto of radical self-government. If we hold as an axiom from this interpretation that a person under […]
Rousseau on Represented Sovereignty in Democracy Read More »
[Written for a Problems of Democracy” course to answer the prompt: “Is democracy an end in itself or is it a means to an end (or ends)? If it is an end in itself, what makes it so? If it serves other ends, what are they? If it serves other ends, is it essential (indispensable
Is Democracy an End in Itself? Read More »
At the foundation of modern moral justifications for the establishment of a coercive state is the voluntarization of that coercive power – in other words, the implication that obedience to governments is in some way chosen and thus morally binding. The philosophical construct that has come to embody this approach is described by the term
Summary and Critique of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract Read More »