: Unlike Hobbes, who saw the state of nature as "nasty, brutish, and short," Rousseau viewed it as a primitive state of natural freedom that became corrupted by society and the invention of private property. Impact and Legacy
: Sovereignty belongs to the whole population, not a monarch. Rousseau rejected the "divine right" of kings, asserting that legitimate authority rests solely on the consent of the governed. Jean Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract
: Scholars debate his work's legacy; some see it as a blueprint for totalitarianism (due to the absolute authority of the general will), while others view it as a primary source for modern democracy . : Unlike Hobbes, who saw the state of
: Rousseau’s concept of alienation and the social bond influenced later thinkers like Karl Marx , though they used the terms differently. Purchase Options for the Text : Scholars debate his work's legacy; some see
: This is the collective interest of all citizens, distinct from the mere sum of their individual desires. Rousseau argues that by submitting to the general will, an individual obeys only themselves and remains free.