The Social Contract · Chapter
V: Aristocracy explained
Rousseau distinguishes three forms of aristocracy—natural, elective, and hereditary—and argues that elective aristocracy is the best form of government.
What happens
Rousseau distinguishes three forms of aristocracy—natural, elective, and hereditary—and argues that elective aristocracy is the best form of government. He emphasizes that the government must act in the name of the Sovereign (the people) and that the wisest should govern for the public profit, not their own. He also notes the inherent tendency of corporate interest to divert public power from the general will.
Themes in this chapter
Sovereignty and Government
Rousseau distinguishes the government as a moral person separate from the Sovereign, emphasizing that government must act in the name of the Sovereign.
The General Will
The chapter discusses two general wills: one of the whole people and one of the administration, and warns that corporate interest can undermine the general will.
Decline and Corruption of the State
Rousseau notes the inevitable propensity of aristocracy to degenerate as corporate interest directs public power away from the general will.
Characters to notice
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Author and primary voice; presents the analysis of aristocracy.
- Aristotle
Referenced for his view that the rich should always be put first, which Rousseau counters.
Key passages
“It is the best and most natural arrangement that the wisest should govern the many, when it is assured that they will govern for its profit, and not for their own.”
The ideal is for the most knowledgeable to rule the majority, provided they rule for the benefit of all, not for themselves.
Rousseau's justification for elective aristocracy.
“But it must not be forgotten that corporate interest here begins to direct the public power less under the regulation of the general will, and that a further inevitable propensity takes away from the laws part of the executive power.”
We must remember that in aristocracy, the group's own interests start to steer public authority away from the general will, and there is a natural tendency for the executive to usurp some of the law's power.
Rousseau warns of the inherent corruption in aristocratic government.