Rousseau s Views On Private Property - 2452 Words

Henri Aleksi Vanhanen Midterm Exam 11.6.2015 PART A 1. The quote was made by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) in his creation â€Å"On Social Contract (1762)† (Rousseau, Social Contract, 4). Rousseau’s discourse on private property can be understood as a response to John Locke’s theories regarding property – and especially to Locke’s labor theory and the government’s role in it (assumption based on the similarity of their discourse). According to Locke’s labor theory, a man’s labor defines his right to own something (Locke, Second Treatise Government, 16) and that one of the government’s top priorities is to guarantee inheritance of private property for those who have and own something (Locke, Second Treatise Government, 37). The theory also contains the aspect that one can own something if he improves it (Locke, Second Treatise Government, 15). In the concept of the society and government’s duties Locke and Rousseau have different ideas. Locke states that the most important social contract is made between the people and that the government should not impose its grip upon things that the people are capable of solving together themselves (Locke, Second Treatise Government, 4). For Rousseau the state of nature is not a constant state of war (Rousseau, Social Contract, 4). This explains why Rousseau says that war cannot arise from personal relations. Rousseau’s basic idea behind the quote is to state that the civilization’s creation and idea of private property and division ofShow MoreRelatedRousseau, Mill, And Constant Articulated By Unpacking Essay1663 Words   |  7 Pagesdistinctively different. Rousseau, Mill, and Constant exhibit a very different view of the modernizing society. This paper seeks to point out the distinct visions of liberty that Rousseau, Mill, and Constant articulated by unpacking th e central premises of each argument, pitting them against each other through comparing and contrasting. 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