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Rousseau and an Alternative to Democracy

            Representative democracy is the most common model of government in all developed countries. It is not possible to talk about "representation " in democracy without having introduced the concept of liberal democracy. John Locke and Thomas Hobbes can be considered the fathers of the liberal doctrine. Since Hobbes "marks an interesting point of transition between a commitment to absolutism and the struggle of liberalism against tyranny " (Held: 2006, p. 59), it is more useful to look at Locke's philosophy, as it is the basis of the liberal tradition which is still present in the contemporary age (Held:2006, p.59). In the "Two treatises of government " Locke show a principle still valid in the contemporary society: people delegates their sovereignty as long as the government guarantees freedom and fundamental rights. Although the liberal principle is now adopted in almost every country, it should not be considered the only possible solution to govern. Contrarily, in fact, Jean-Jacques Rousseau in "The social contract " stated that there is no possibility for the people to delegate its power and be represented, since from that moment the power would no longer belong to the people itself who, at the same time, would lose its freedom. Consequently no representation is possible in Rousseau's society.
             In this essay I will define democracy focusing my attention on the representative model. Subsequently I will show how Rousseau challenges the main points of representative democracy, in order to better understand if the Social Contract is or is not a better alternative to the liberal conception of democracy. The notion of democracy has now really changed if it is considered the ancient meaning of this word. Thucydides in "The Peloponnesian war " perfectly shows the importance of Athens' democracy and its primary role among Greeks pòleis. The Greek ekklÃsia which represent the model of direct democracy was no more possible during the modern age.


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1. Social Contract Rousseau

... the number of rulers should diminish as the size of the population grows larger" (Book III: II 229). Rousseau, therefore, discusses three main types of governments. According to the size of the government, Rousseau interprets three types: the democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy. When more citizens are magistrates than not, or when the state is smaller in size, the government is ... 231). The democratic government is seen as incapable of ever having equal citizenship: in wills, statuses, and agreement. Moreover, civil dispute is always around the corner, believes Rousseau, because he se...

  • Word Count: 7115
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2. What is representative democracy? is its aim to promote or r

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5. Social Contract

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  • Word Count: 7114
  • Approx Pages: 28
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. JESUITS IN CHINA

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7. Parliamentary or presidential government

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8. Critical Thinking

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