The Social Contract · Chapter
XIV: The Same (Continued) explained
Rousseau argues that when the people assemble as a sovereign body, government jurisdiction and executive power are suspended, and every citizen becomes as inviolable as the highest magistrate.
What happens
Rousseau argues that when the people assemble as a sovereign body, government jurisdiction and executive power are suspended, and every citizen becomes as inviolable as the highest magistrate. He criticizes the historical ignorance of this rule in Roman assemblies, notes the fear rulers have of such popular assemblies, and warns that when citizens prefer ease to liberty, sovereign authority fades and states perish prematurely. He hints at a mean power between sovereignty and arbitrary government.
Themes in this chapter
Sovereignty and Government
Highlights the suspension of government jurisdiction when the sovereign people assemble, and the tension between sovereign authority and executive power.
Decline and Corruption of the State
Describes how citizens' greed, cowardice, and love of ease lead to the disappearance of sovereign authority and the premature fall of cities.
Characters to notice
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Author and narrator, presenting the argument on the suspension of government when the sovereign people assembles.
Key passages
“The moment the people is legitimately assembled as a sovereign body, the jurisdiction of the government wholly lapses, the executive power is suspended, and the person of the meanest citizen is as sacred and inviolable as that of the first magistrate; for in the presence of the person represented, representatives no longer exist.”
When the people lawfully gather as the sovereign, all government authority ceases, executive power is halted, and the humblest citizen becomes as sacred as the highest official, because representatives vanish before those they represent.
Rousseau's core claim about the immediate transfer of authority to the assembled sovereign.
“When the citizens are greedy, cowardly, and pusillanimous, and love ease more than liberty, they do not long hold out against the redoubled efforts of the government; and thus, as the resisting force incessantly grows, the sovereign authority ends by disappearing, and most cities fall and perish before their time.”
If citizens are avaricious, timid, and prefer comfort to freedom, they quickly yield to the government's increasing pressure, causing sovereign authority to vanish and most states to collapse prematurely.
Rousseau's warning about the decay of sovereignty due to citizen apathy and love of ease.