Family: The Oldest And Only Natural Form Of Government
What is the family? The family is considered by most people to be a network of people connected by blood. It is also an intricate system of government with laws in which each member plays a special role and has to uphold the requirements of that role. Rousseau considers the family to be the oldest and only natural form of government. This analogy regards the family as the foundation of all political associations. By analogy, the ruler is the father and the children are the people. They both follow some of the same basic concepts of life. Certain laws are used to the advantage of the “children” and “people” used in the analogy. Political associations and family have a difference even though one was based on the other. The difference between each party is in their rewards. This difference fails to show its significance in its relation to the natural form of government.
I believe this analogy to be useful and its contentions to be true to a certain extent. The analogy clearly identifies the similarities of political associations and the family. It states that the family has specific laws that it must follow. Self-preservation is one of the laws that a family follows. This law explains the responsibility a child n
Rousseau compares the family to government. He points out that the family is the foundation for government. The father in a family is the ruler in a government and the children are the people. This comparison indicates the similarities between government and family. His analogy also clarifies the law of self-preservation. This law states that a child who is of age severs the bond between his or her father and him or her. This bond
its people until a certain age is attained. This allows the people to take care of themselves just like children in a family. In a family, the father is not obligated to help his children when they reach the stage of self-preservation whereas in a government it is obligated to help its people. Both use their freedom as long as it is to their advantage. The similarities stated above indicate the family’s influence in the formation of government.
o longer owes to his father and the responsibility the father no longer owes to his children. It shows how an equal independence is gained between the father and his children. Children are no longer obligated to rely on their father for support. The father is somewhat cleared of his fatherly dutie