Book 1

Chapter 1: Subject of the First Book

o Rousseau asks the question of what is the agreement that citizen made with
society to govern themselves
Chapter 2: Of the First Societies
o Family is the first social group, the most natural one
The bond of a family comes from need
o Once need is gone then the child does not owe obedience to the father and the
father does not need to care for the child
These two individuals become independent
o If these two continue to be untied then it is done through agreement because the
need is not there
o Compares the family structure to a politic body
o Grotius states that human authority is not for the benefit for the govern
Slavery as an example
o Rousseau states that men are all free but a slave that is born from a slave shall
become one
Slaves lose everything with it is their desire to escape
Slaves love their servitude
Force created slavery but their cowardice moved the generation
Chapter 3: On the Right of the Strongest
o Critiquing Hobbes: The strong cannot be masters all the time unless force turns
into right and obedience into duty
o Hobbes presented the right of the strongest as a basic principle but force which
the strong use is an act of physical power and does not deal with morality
Hence those who follow because of force do so because they are acting
prudent and out of necessity, check with Locke
o Rousseau states that if being strong produces right then the populace does not
have a duty to obey because if only they become stronger then they can disobey
o Conclusion, one should only obey legitimate powers
Force does not give rise to dominant or to rule over others
Chapter 4: On Slavery
o Agreements are alone the therefore the only basis for legitimate power over
another human
o A person sells himself to provide for themselves
A king only takes from their slaves for their own subsistence
Rousseau is asking why any person would sell themselves because does
not give them but rather take
o Hobbes states people under slavery live in civil tranquility
Rousseau critiques the ideal of civil tranquility by establishing that people
are under the commands of a ruler that can take them to war or make
oppressive demands.
For Rousseau, the argument of tranquility is invalid because this trait is a
misery for enslaved people and alludes to tranquility as the Greeks living
in peace inside Cyclops cave are awaiting to be devoured.
 o A person does not give himself without receiving anything and this too applies to
the populace.
If a person were to give their liberty to a government then they would not
be able to give their childrens liberty
Paternal power dictates that a father can make conditions for the
preservation of their children but not able to gift their liberty
o There is no compensation for giving away ones rights of humanity or duties
o Grotius argues that a victor has the right to kill the vanquished and that the latter
can give their liberties away and avoiding death is their profit.
Rousseau argues that a state cannot kill a man that was a solider for its
state. He states that the enemy is the state and not the individuals only
soldiers of the state are enemies once a solider surrenders then he
becomes a man, with natural liberty
Right of slavery is illegitimate
Chapter 5: That It Is Always Necessary to Return to a First Agreement
o The law of majority is established by agreement
o A person who rules by force over a people is not one body because his interests
are of his own and not the public good
Chapter 6: On the Social Compact
o In the state of nature there were obstacles that the individual could not resist
anymore because it was more force than the individual had.
Rousseau states that if humans continue to live in the state of nature then
the race would die
o Men can continue to maintain themselves through aggregating their forces to gain
the upper hand over the resistance
Men would unite and act as a single moving power, politic body, an act in
concert.
o Man needs the many to create this politic body but how can one do so without
losing their individual force or liberty?
Creating an association that protects the common good of everyone while
allowing the individual the right to obey himself and remains free
Rousseau describes as being the problem
Any modification to the agreement renders the social compact and
resumes the natural liberty of the person
Everyone must give themselves and their rights to the whole and since
everyone is giving themselves no one will cause trouble for the whole
People join the compact because it gives them everything they want
making the union prefect
People give themselves to the whole and not to an individual that the
person gains from the whole everything he lost and has the force of the
whole to preserve his property
o Through this compact a moral and collective body is composed with many
members govern by the general will.
This union is called a republic or body politic and its member call it a state
when it is passive. When active they call it sovereign They use the word
power to compare it to like institutions. Collectively the members are
 called people and individuals they are called citizens. When they are
participants in a sovereign then they are called subjects.

Chapter 7: On the Sovereign

o A reciprocal relationship to the public and private individual.
As a private individual and a member of the state, a person, is in two
commitments with itself.
o A person can never give some part of himself away or submit to another power
because it would bring the demise of the contract
o Private individuals should not have interests that are contrary to the interests of
the whole
One cannot attack a member of the politic body without acting the whole
of the body
o In order for the social compact to work the members have to do what is good for
the common good, Locke similar
Chapter 8: On the Civil State
o Man loses natural liberty when he joins the social contract
Limited by the individuals force
o Man gains the right ownership of property
Limited by the general will
Chapter 9: On Real Property
o The right of first occupancy
Similar to Lockes view on property
Rules: land must have not been occupied, do not take more than
needed, can only take if they are working and cultivating the
property.
o Public Property is stronger, backed by the force of the common, and irrevocable
to strangers.
o Owners are considered trustees of the public good
Rights respected by the members and protection against foreign threats
o Men all become equal by agreement and right

Book 2

Chapter 1: The Sovereignty is Inalienable

o The general will only one authorized to direct the forces of the state for the
common good
Governed by the Common interests
o Sovereignty which is the exercise of the general will cannot be sold or given
Power can be transferred but not the former.
Chapter 2: That Sovereignty is Indivisible
Sovereignty cannot be divided and acts on law
Sovereignty that is broken up is not done so by principle by rather by
object
Breaking it into the legislative (will) or executive (force)
 An act of magistracy is what prevails from a divided sovereignty
Chapter 3: Whether the General Will Can Err
o The populace is never corrupted but it can be tricked to wanting bad
We all want to do good for us but we often do not know what that is
o Informed citizens engaging in political discourse equals to acting on the general
will
o There should be no partial society so the people are able to is able to make uop
his own mind.
o If there are to be partial societies then increase the associations in number and
prevent inequality.
Chapter 4: On the Limits of Sovereign Power
o The sovereign cannot ask its citizen anything that is not for the use of the
community
o The sovereign has force over the body and that is cannot give special treatment
to a single member of the compact
o Man left natural independence for liberty, the power to harm others for security,
their individual force for the force of the whole.
Chapter 5: On the Right of Life or Death
o When one goes against the state then they are to be killed because they are a
threat to the common good, Locke
o The state should not resort to corporal punishment because it shows that the
system is weak. It should only kill the enemy if it is unable to preserve the life
without encountering danger
o In a well govern state there are few criminals
Chapter 6: On Law
o What is a law?
A statute that concerns the whole of the population
o Law considers the subject as the body and action as an abstract
Law doesnt look at the individual
o The legislative power has no function for the individual
It cannot give power to one individual or family
o Republic any form of government that is ruled by laws which is when the public
interests governs
Chapter 7: On the Legislator
o A legislator: makes laws for the general will
Must not succumb to the passions of men and be concerned with the
happiness of the whole.
Alter mans constitution to make it better
o The legislators office is superior in function but has nothing to do with the
dominion of the men, Similar to Locke.
Those who have command over men while having command over the law
are susceptible to the will of himself rather than the general will
o Having the legislator and the sovereign powers together invites tranny
 o The legislator unable to use reason or force to make his laws enforceable seeks
the power of the heaven and Gods.
o Religion used as a political tool for the public
Chapter 8: On the People
o The legislators cannot impose right away to the people
It could be that the people are driven by vices and by imposing laws they
will not be able to create good men out of them
Crete good laws but evil people
o It is hard to change a person that is no longer in his youth because they are set in
their ways
The legislator has to wait until the people are mature or risk the
development of the civilization
Revolution can cause the youthful stage to come back since people want
to forget their past life because of the violence
Chapter 9: On the People (Continued)
o In a body, politic there such a thing as a maximum force that it cannot exceed
A smaller state is proportionally stronger than a large one
o When a body politic becomes too big then the administration for the people too
grows and becomes complicated and a burden to the people since they need to
pay for these different administrations
o When the people of governance is too big then some laws do not apply to some
populations or laws arent executed, big body politics deplete resources
Chapter 10: On the People (Continued)
o Maximum force is having enough land to preserve the members of the state
o Expansion to mountainous country because less work
Chapter 11: On the Various Systems of Legislation
o Legislators should be concerned with liberty and equality
Liberty is the dependence of people to the state and liberty can only exist
with equality
o Moderation in goods and power
o Civil Liberty being free and only constrained by law.
Chapter 12: Classification of Laws
o Fundamental Laws:
Laws between sovereign and the state
o Civil Laws:
Laws that concern members
o Criminal Law
Laws that deal with disobedience to the law