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On one hand, Rousseau argues that the general will allows for individual variety and freedom. But the

general will encourages the well being of the whole, and can disagreement with the particular interests

of individuals. There are some aspects of the general will that Rousseau clearly articulates. First, the

general will is directly tied to Sovereignty, but not Sovereignty merely in the sense of whomever holds

power. For Rousseau, is not sufficient for that power to be morally legitimate. Second, the object of the

general will is always abstract, or for lack of a better term, general. It can set up rules, social classes, or

even a monarchial government, but it can never specify the particular individuals who are subject to the

rules, members of the classes, or the rulers in the government. This is in keeping with the idea that the

general will speaks to the good of the society as a whole.

There is often a great deal of difference between the will of all and the general will; the latter

considers only the common interest, while the former takes private interest into account, and is no

more than a sum of particular wills: but take away from these same wills the pluses and minuses that

cancel one another, and the general will remains as the sum of the differences

When talking about the best example of the general will, I can take the Kuwait society, that it is

consider as the civil liberty according to the freedom which citizen of Kuwaiti have obtain from Al-

Sabah family these because, the preceding could added the acquisition in the civil state of moral

liberty, which alone makes man truly the master of himself. For to be driven by appetite alone is

slavery and obedience to the law one of his prescribed for oneself is liberty. again Kuwaiti citizens have

gain in the civil state are civil liberty , proprietary ownership and moral liberty .on the other side they

lose by moving away from the state of nature are natural liberty, unlimited right to everything that

tempts them and that they can acquire ,and possession

Rousseau uses the concept of General Will as a means by which a group

of people enter into a social contract. The General Will is

constructed by the people who in turn obey it as citizens. The

separate wills, rights and desires of each member of a society brought

together as a single unit is the General Will. In the derivation of

the General Will, Rousseau emphasizes that every man is free.Therefore, every subject is equal and has no more power or influence

on the General Will than any other citizen in the society. This social

contract provides an environment where its citizens experience natural

freedom. Ultimately, insuring the natural freedom of a society is the

goal of a government.

In Rousseau's explanation of freedom, there is a division between two

types of freedom. They are personal freedom and social freedom.


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Personal freedom comes from humans' basic instincts and natural

selfishness. An individual acts only if he benefits. Rousseau also

called this freedom a state of nature. The second freedom, social

freedom, is achieved when an individual obeys the desires of the

General Will.


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Jean-Jacques Rousseau discusses the legitimacy of authority in The Social Contract.

Rousseaus idea of the legitimacy of authority.

The social contract, according to Rousseau is a person or institution only has authority if they are able to

command others, for example, in our society only the police have authority to stop traffic. Rousseaus

call this legitimate authority. Rousseaus idea of the state is any group of people that are controlled by a

set of law that outline their behavior or conduct. We can agree that living in a civil state gives us plenty

of advantages and opportunities which we would not have outside it. He need us not to be selfish. We

should not be primarily concerned with our own individual aspirations and goals but act in the greater

interest of the state. Occasionally, we can act according to our particular will for as long as their actions

did not affect anyone. However, if the will concerns other people then it does matter. Rousseau calls the

particular desires of an individual their particular will which he thinks is mostly going to be concerned

with our own advantage. He also claims that the will of all is what you get if you add together the

particular will of each person. He also refers to the general will. He thought that if many individuals were

acting as a group, then questions would arise which required an answer from the group as a whole. This

could apply to any group for example, a sports group, a social club and so on.

Rousseau explains the general ,will as the will of a group. Part of joining a sports team (or any team for

that matter) is that you agree to act as a member of the team when the situation demands it. You do

not act as an individual. The team does not work unless each individual acts as a member of the team.

The same goes for living in a civil state.

Consider the statement, Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. "

During the revolution many people found they could relate to Rousseau's writings and philosophical

ideas, just in the same way as Jean-Louis David and his paintings. Rousseau'sidea for government seems

unacceptable or impossible to us, however, his idea that Man is born free, and everywhere he is in

chains was strongly believed by people during the revolution.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau may be the most important work is The Social Contract, which indicates the basis

for a legitimate political order through a framework of classical republicanism. When it published in

1762, it became one of the most serious works of political philosophy in the Western tradition. It

developed some of the ideas mentioned in an earlier work, the treatise begins with the dramatic


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opening lines, "Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains. One man thinks himself the master

of others, but remains more of a slave than they.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau outlined that the primitive state of nature condition without law or morality,

which individual beings left for the benefits and necessity of cooperation. As society developed, division

of labour and private property required the human race to adopt institutions of law. In the degeneratephase of society, man is prone to be in frequent competition with his fellow men while also becoming

increasingly dependent on them. This double pressure threatens both his survival and his freedom.

According to Rousseau, by joining together in civil society through the social contract and abandoning

their claims of natural right, individuals can both preserve themselves and remain free. This is because

submission to the authority of the general will of the people as a whole guarantees individuals against

being subject to the wills of others, and also ensure that they obey themselves because they,

collectively, the framers of the law.

The importance of the general will:

The general will, made famous by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is a concept in political referring to the desire

or interest of a people as a whole, or, as the U.S. constitution puts it, the "general welfare". As used by

Rousseau, the "general will" is identical to the rule of law and to Spinoza's men una". The notion of

general will is wholly central to Rousseau's theory of political legitimacy.it is, however, an unfortunately

obscure and controversial notion. Some commentators see it as no more than the dictatorship of the

proletariat or the tyranny of the urban poor (such as may perhaps be seen in the French revolution).

Such was not Rousseau's meaning. This is clear from the discourse on political economy, where

Rousseau emphasizes that the general will exists to protect individuals' against the mass, not require

them to be sacrificed to it. He is, of course sharply aware that men have selfish and sectional interests

which will lead them to try to oppress others. It is for this reason that loyalty to the good of all alike

must be a supreme (although not exclusive) commitment by everyone, not only if a truly general will is

to be heeded but also if it is to be formulated successfully in the first place".

The phrase, "general will" as Rousseau intended it, occurs in Article six of the declaration of the rights of

man and the citizen, composed in 1789 during the French :

The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to contribute personally, or

through their representatives, to its formation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or

punishes. All citizens, being equal in its eyes, are equally admissible to all public dignities, position, and

employments, according to their capacities, and without any other distinction than that of their virtues

and their talents".

In this case, we have the right to not obey the law , because there is not affair law that strips the right of

humanity and freedom , there are examples of real life , people debated the legitimacy of governance

within the ideas of Rousseau , among this the Egyptian revolution ,which was based on the principles of

freedom ,social justice and equality ,and this is a fair principles ,it is the right of every human being to

live a decent life .


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percentage of seats in the legislature in proportion to its share of the total vote cast. Throughout history, themost importantaspects of the democratic way of life have been the principles of individual equality and freedom. Accordingly,citizens in ademocracy should be entitled to equal protection of their persons, possessions, and rights; have equalopportunity to pursuetheir lives and careers; and have equal rights of political participation. In addition, the people should enjoyfreedom from undueinterference and domination by government. They should be free, within the framework of the law, to believe,behave, andexpress themselves as they wish.

Democratic societies seek to guarantee their citizens certain freedoms, including freedom of religion, freedom ofthepress, and freedom of speech. Ideally, citizens also should be guaranteed freedom of association and of

assembly,freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the freedom to work and live where and how they choose.Somepeople in democratic states have been eager to increase the role of government in society in order to makematerialconditions more equal for everyone. However, other people have been concerned that the extension of

government's role

in such areas as welfare, education, employment, and housing may decrease the freedom of the people andsubject themto too much government regulation. The supporters of more government involvement are known as liberals. Thecritics of

more government involvement are known as conservatives. The division between these groups has helpedfurnish one ofthe main themes of controversy and discussion in modern democratic societies.Features of DemocracyThe characteristics of democracy vary from one country to another, but certain basic features are more or lessthe samein all democratic nations. Free elections give the people a chance to choose their leaders and express theiropinions onissues. Elections are held periodically to ensure that elected officials truly represent the people. The possibilityof being votedout of office helps assure that these officials pay attention to public opinion. In most democracies, the only legalrequirementsfor voting or for holding public office have to do with age, residence, and citizenship. The democratic processpermits citizensto vote by secret ballot, free from force or bribes. It also requires that election results be protected againstdishonesty.Majority Rule and Minority Rights: In a democracy, a decision often must be approved by a majority of votersbeforeit may take effect. This principle, which is called majority rule, may be used to elect officials or decide a policy.Democracies


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sometimes decide votes by plurality. Most democracies go beyond a simple majority to make fundamental orconstitutionalchanges. In the United States, constitutional amendments must be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths ofthe states orby special conventions called in three-fourths of the states. Majority rule is based on the idea that if all citizensare equal, thejudgment of the many will be better than the judgment of the few. Democracy values freely given consent as thebasis oflegitimate and effective political power. However, democracies are also concerned with protecting individualliberty andpreventing government from infringing on the freedoms of individuals. Democratic countries guarantee thatcertain rights cannever be taken from the people, even by extremely large majorities. These rights include the basic freedoms ofspeech, press,assembly, and religious worship. The majority also must recognize the right of the minority to try to become themajority bylegal means. Political parties are a necessary part of democratic government. Rival parties make elections

meaningful bygiving voters a choice among candidates who represent different interests and points of view. The United Statesand GreatBritain have chiefly two-party systems. Many democratic countries have multi-party systems, which have morethan two majorparties. Often in these countries, no single party gains a majority in the legislature. As a result, two or moreparties must jointo make up such a majority. These parties form a coalition government. In democratic countries, the party orparties that areout of power serve as the loyal opposition. That is, they criticize the policies and actions of the party in power.In variousdictatorships, criticism of the party in power may be labeled as treason. Often, only the government party is

allowed to exist.The people have no real choice among candidates, and no opportunity to express dissatisfaction with thegovernment.Controls on Power: Democracies have various arrangements to prevent any person or branch of governmentfrombecoming too powerful. For example, the U.S. Constitution divides political power between the states and thefederalgovernment. Some powers belong only to the states, some only to the federal government, and some areshared by both.The Constitution further divides the powers of the U.S. government among the President, Congress, and thefederal courts.

The power of each branch is designed to check or balance the power of the others. In all democratic countries,governmentofficials are subject to the law and are accountable to the people. Officials may be removed from office forlawless conductor for other serious reasons. The communications media help keep elected officials sensitive to public opinion.Constitutional Government: Democratic government is based on law and, in most cases, a written constitution.Constitutions state the powers and duties of government and limit what the government may do. Constitutionsalso say how


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laws shall be made and enforced. Most constitutions have a detailed bill of rights that describes the basicliberties of thepeople and forbids the government to violate those rights. Constitutions that have been in effect for a long timemay includecertain unwritten procedures that have become important parts of the operation of government. Suchprocedures are a matterof custom rather than written law. Britain has no single written document called the constitution. In that country,however,certain customs and convention, as well as certain major documents and many laws, are widely accepted as thebasic rules ofthe system. An essential characteristic of democratic government is an independent judiciary. It is the duty ofthe justicesystem to protect the integrity of the rules and the rights of individuals under these rules, especially against thegovernmentitself. Occasionally, dictatorships establish very elaborate constitutions and extensive lists of basic rights ofcitizens.Private Organizations: In a democracy, individuals and private organizations carry on many social and economic

activities that are, for the most part, free of government control. For example, newspapers and magazines areprivatelyowned and managed. Labor unions are run by and for the benefit of workers, not the state. Democraticgovernmentsgenerally do not interfere with religious worship. Private schools operate along with public schools. The peoplemay formgroups to influence opinion on public issues and policies. Most businesses in democratic societies are privatelyowned andmanaged. Britain, Sweden, and other democracies have government ownership and control of certain basicindustries andservices. In dictatorial societies, the government alone may organize and control most associations. The peopleare not permitted to establish or join most groups without the permission of the state. In some countries, the

government almostcompletely owns and manages the economy.

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On one hand