General will, in political theory, a collectively held will that aims at the common good or common interest . ... In Du Contrat social (1762; The Social Contract), Rousseau argued that freedom and authority are not contradictory, since legitimate laws are founded on the general will of the citizens.
The will of the sovereign that aims at the common good. Each individual has his own particular will that expresses what is best for him . The general will expresses what is best for the state as a whole.
What is the difference between the general will and the will of all?
While the general will looks out for the common good , the will of all looks out for private interests and is simply the sum of these competing interests. ... When dealing with the general will, however, the overriding objective is the common good and everyone cooperates to achieve it.
What are the features of general will?
Rousseau characterized general will as being always abstract, establishing rules and setting up systems of government , but never being specific about which individuals were subject to the rules or about who the particular members of social classes or the particular rulers in the government were.
Why is the general will always right?
“The general will is always right,” claimed Rousseau. His statement has often been taken to imply a kind of mystical popular will in whose name the force of the state can be exercised . ... “Indeed, each individual can, as a man, have a private will contrary to or differing from the general will he has as a citizen.
Who distinguished between real will and actual will?
In political philosophy, the general will (French: volonté générale) is the will of the people as a whole. The term was made famous by 18th-century Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau .
Social contract theory says that people live together in society in accordance with an agreement that establishes moral and political rules of behavior. ... Indeed, regardless of whether social contracts are explicit or implicit, they provide a valuable framework for harmony in society.
In simple terms, Locke’s social contract theory says: government was created through the consent of the people to be ruled by the majority , “(unless they explicitly agree on some number greater than the majority),” and that every man once they are of age has the right to either continue under the government they were ...
social contract, in political philosophy, an actual or hypothetical compact, or agreement, between the ruled or between the ruled and their rulers, defining the rights and duties of each . ... They then, by exercising natural reason, formed a society (and a government) by means of a social contract.
political philosophy
Government (1690) by Locke and The Social Contract (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78) proposed justifications of political association grounded in the newer political requirements of the age.
How is the general will determined?
A simple aggregation of private wills may generate the will of all, but the general will requires a mutual adjustment of interests in light of what individuals can reasonably demand of one another . There is no infallible procedure by which to determine the general will.
What is the general will of God?
God’s general will (volonté générale) is directed at the salvation of all people , and God’s particular will (volonté particulière) at the special, which will decide on the salvation of some. ... Malebranche claims that God acts by general wills when he acts in consequence of general laws which he has established.
Who is the father of political science?
Some have identified Plato (428/427–348/347 bce), whose ideal of a stable republic still yields insights and metaphors, as the first political scientist, though most consider Aristotle (384–322 bce), who introduced empirical observation into the study of politics, to be the discipline’s true founder.
Is the general will always right?
By definition, the general will is always right . The general will is the overriding good to which each person is willing to sacrifice all other goods, including all particular private wills. The “good citizen” assigns to society’s laws a goodness and wisdom exceeding his own goodness and wisdom.
What general will means?
General will, in political theory, a collectively held will that aims at the common good or common interest . ... In obeying the law, the individual citizen is thus only obeying himself as a member of the political community.
What is the difference between Hobbes and Rousseau?
Hobbes theory of Social Contract supports absolute sovereign without giving any value to individuals, while Locke and Rousseau supports individual than the state or the government. ... To Hobbes, the sovereign and the government are identical but Rousseau makes a distinction between the two.
