Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
interests against the general will or common good. Locke states that
when this occurs, the social contract becomes void and the
government is rendered illegitimate in that political society.15 When
the government acts in such a way that is detrimental to society, the
government is understood to have entered a state of war with the
people, which legitimize the peoples right to defend him or herself,
also known as the right to revolt according to Locke.16 If the
government utilized force, treasure, and offices to corrupt the
representatives, and gain them to his purposes, the people then
must remove them from their position of authority, as their rule is no
longer legitimate.17 Rousseau discusses a similar situation in his
discussion of the assembly of individuals to form the sovereign. It is
understood that every individual in a political society holds the
responsibility of a citizen, which requires him or her to act as
sovereign as well. Acting as sovereign, they must personally attend
assemblies because sovereignty cannot be represented for the
same reason it cannot be alienated.18 During the assemblies, two
questions that concern the current government is asked, the first
asking if the current form of government is adequate and the second
on whether the current government is working towards the common
good.19 If the sovereign, or the people conclude otherwise, they then
possess the right to remove the government, as this will ensure the
preservation of citizens and the political society. Locke and Rousseau
15 Locke, Second Treatise of Government, 108-109.
16 Ibid., 111.
17 Ibid., 112.
18 Rousseau, Basic Political Writings, 219.
19 Rousseau, Basic Political Writings, 224.
6
Rousseau, Jean, and Donald A. Cress. Basic Political Writings. 2nd ed.
Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub. Co., 2011.