The Social Contract · Chapter
Slavery explained
Rousseau argues that no man has natural authority over another, and that force alone cannot create legitimate right.
What happens
Rousseau argues that no man has natural authority over another, and that force alone cannot create legitimate right. He refutes Grotius's claim that a people can alienate their liberty to a king, asserting that such an act is absurd and illegitimate. He further denies that war can give rise to a right of slavery, contending that war is a relation between states, not individuals, and that the supposed right to kill the vanquished does not justify enslavement. Ultimately, Rousseau declares the right of slavery null and void, as it is contradictory to the concepts of right and liberty.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Despotism and Slavery
Rousseau systematically refutes the supposed right of slavery, whether derived from voluntary alienation or conquest, arguing it is null and illegitimate.
State of Nature vs. Civil Society
Rousseau distinguishes between the state of nature, where private war cannot exist, and the civil state, where laws govern relations, to argue against the right of slavery.
Liberty and Equality
Rousseau asserts that liberty is inalienable and that renouncing it is contrary to human nature, emphasizing the equality of all men.
Characters to notice
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Author of the chapter, presenting arguments against slavery and despotism.
- Hugo Grotius
Cited as the proponent of the idea that a people can alienate their liberty to a king, which Rousseau refutes.
- Thomas Hobbes
Implied in the discussion of the state of war and the right of the strongest, though not explicitly named.
- John Locke
Referenced indirectly through the discussion of natural rights and the illegitimacy of arbitrary government.
Key passages
“To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties.”
Giving up freedom means giving up one's humanity and moral responsibilities.
Rousseau emphasizes the fundamental nature of liberty to human existence.
“War is constituted by a relation between things, and not between persons; and, as the state of war cannot arise out of simple personal relations, but only out of real relations, private war, or war of man with man, can exist neither in the state of nature, where there is no constant property, nor in the social state, where everything is under the authority of the laws.”
War is a conflict between states, not individuals; thus, private war between individuals is impossible both in the state of nature and in civil society.
Rousseau redefines war to undermine the justification for slavery based on conquest.
“The words 'slave' and 'right' contradict each other, and are mutually exclusive.”
The concept of a slave having rights is inherently contradictory.
Rousseau concludes that slavery cannot be a legitimate institution.