The Social Contract · Chapter
I: That the General Will Is Indestructible explained
Rousseau argues that as long as a collective body of citizens acts as one, the general will is clear and vigorous, requiring few laws.
What happens
Rousseau argues that as long as a collective body of citizens acts as one, the general will is clear and vigorous, requiring few laws. However, when the state weakens and private interests prevail, the general will is subordinated but never destroyed; it remains constant and pure, even if individuals betray it for personal gain.
Themes in this chapter
The General Will
The chapter centers on the general will as constant, unalterable, and pure, even when subordinated by private interests.
Decline and Corruption of the State
Rousseau describes the weakening of the social bond and the rise of private interests that corrupt the state's integrity.
Characters to notice
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Author and narrator, presenting the argument on the indestructibility of the general will.
Key passages
“As long as several men in assembly regard themselves as a single body, they have only a single will which is concerned with their common preservation and general well-being.”
When a group of people in an assembly sees itself as one entity, it has a unified will focused on the common good.
Rousseau's foundational premise for the indestructibility of the general will.
“Does it follow from this that the general will is exterminated or corrupted? Not at all: it is always constant, unalterable and pure; but it is subordinated to other wills which encroach upon its sphere.”
The general will is never destroyed or corrupted; it remains constant and pure, though it may be overridden by other competing wills.
Key assertion that the general will persists despite individual selfishness.