# The Dictatorship explained — The Social Contract

> Chapter companion for The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

## What happens

Rousseau discusses the necessity of suspending the laws in times of crisis to preserve the State, distinguishing between concentrating government power and appointing a dictator who silences the laws without abolishing them. He uses Roman examples to illustrate the proper use and risks of the dictatorship, warning against both overuse and underuse.

## Themes in this chapter

### Sovereignty and Government

Explores the suspension of sovereign authority in emergencies and the role of a dictator as a temporary magistrate.

### Decline and Corruption of the State

Discusses how the misuse or sparing use of the dictatorship contributed to Rome's decline.

### The Role of the Legislator

Highlights the inflexibility of laws and the need for foresight in allowing their suspension.

## Character check-ins

### Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Author of the chapter, presenting his argument on the dictatorship as a necessary suspension of laws in emergencies.

### Cicero

Mentioned as the consul who exceeded his powers during the Catilinarian conspiracy, later punished for violating the laws.

### Niccolò Machiavelli

Referenced indirectly through the discussion of Roman political practices and the concept of dictatorship.

## Key lines

> The inflexibility of the laws, which prevents them from adapting themselves to circumstances, may, in certain cases, render them disastrous, and make them bring about, at a time of crisis, the ruin of the State.

Laws that cannot adapt to changing situations can sometimes cause the destruction of the state during emergencies.

_Rousseau introduces the need for suspending laws in crises._

> Thus the suspension of the legislative authority is in no sense its abolition; the magistrate who silences it cannot make it speak; he dominates it, but cannot represent it. He can do anything, except make laws.

Temporarily setting aside the legislature does not destroy it; the dictator can act but not create new laws.

_Clarifies the limited power of a dictator under Rousseau's framework._

> However brilliant his recall may have been, it was undoubtedly an act of pardon.

Even though Cicero was later honored, his pardon was still a forgiveness for breaking the law.

_Rousseau criticizes Cicero's violation of legal procedures during the Catilinarian conspiracy._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_social_contract_se/chapters/vi-the-dictatorship
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_social_contract_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_social_contract_se/chapters