Many of the
sentiments conveyed in the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen" strongly reminded me of Rousseau's writings on the Social
Contract. In particular, Rousseau describes at length the constitution of
the General Will of society, which we also discussed at length in class. While
Rousseau may have alluded to a city-state type societal structure in his
writings on the Social Contract, the idea that society should flow in the
direction of the common good or will is heavily suggested in the Declaration.
It reads, “The law is an expression of the will of the community. All citizens
have a right to concur, either personally, or by their representatives, in its
formation. It should be the same to all, whether it protects or punishes; and
all being equal in its sight, are equally eligible to all honours, places, and
employments, according to their different abilities, without any other
distinction than that created by their virtues and talents”. Here, the National
Assembly of France makes it clear that law should be created and enforced based
on the conclusions and ideas of the entire state, which is strikingly similar
to what Rousseau described in his writings on the Social Contract. That being
said, the National Assembly’s statement that “all citizens have a right to
concur, either personally, or by their representatives” diverges from Rousseau’s
words. I believe that Rousseau envisioned a city-state societal structure that
did not allow for the complications of representative democracy, and I do not
believe that the General Will could exist as he defined it in a state with representative
democracy. Of course, France is (and was) too large of a nation to truly follow
Rousseau’s ideas. The idea that all “men are born, and always continue, free
and equal” also alludes to Rousseau’s writings. This is not surprising seeing
as Rousseau published his writings on the Social Contract right before the
Declaration was written.
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