On one hand, Rousseau argues that the general will allows for individual variety and freedom.

But the general will encourages the well being of the whole, and can disagreement with the particular interests of individuals. There are some aspects of the general will that Rousseau clearly articulates. First, the general will is directly tied to Sovereignty, but not Sovereignty merely in the sense of whomever holds power. For Rousseau, is not sufficient for that power to be morally legitimate. Second, the object of the general will is always abstract, or for lack of a better term, general. It can set up rules, social classes, or even a monarchial government, but it can never specify the particular individuals who are subject to the rules, members of the classes, or the rulers in the government. This is in keeping with the idea that the general will speaks to the good of the society as a whole. There is often a great deal of difference between the will of all and the general will; the latter considers only the common interest, while the former takes private interest into account, and is no more than a sum of particular wills: but take away from these same wills the pluses and minuses that cancel one another, and the general will remains as the sum of the differences When talking about the best example of the general will, I can take the Kuwait society, that it is consider as the civil liberty according to the freedom which citizen of Kuwaiti have obtain from AlSabah family these because, the preceding could added the acquisition in the civil state of moral liberty, which alone makes man truly the master of himself. For to be driven by appetite alone is slavery and obedience to the law one of his prescribed for oneself is liberty. again Kuwaiti citizens have gain in the civil state are civil liberty , proprietary ownership and moral liberty .on the other side they lose by moving away from the state of nature are natural liberty, unlimited right to everything that tempts them and that they can acquire ,and possession

Rousseau uses the concept of General Will as a means by which a group of people enter into a social contract. The General Will is constructed by the people who in turn obey it as citizens. The separate wills, rights and desires of each member of a society brought together as a single unit is the General Will. In the derivation of the General Will, Rousseau emphasizes that every man is free. Therefore, every subject is equal and has no more power or influence on the General Will than any other citizen in the society. This social contract provides an environment where its citizens experience natural freedom. Ultimately, insuring the natural freedom of a society is the goal of a government. In Rousseau's explanation of freedom, there is a division between two types of freedom. They are personal freedom and social freedom.

Personal freedom comes from humans' basic instincts and natural selfishness. An individual acts only if he benefits. Rousseau also called this freedom a state of nature. The second freedom, social freedom, is achieved when an individual obeys the desires of the General Will.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau discusses the legitimacy of authority in The Social Contract.

Rousseaus idea of the legitimacy of authority.

The social contract, according to Rousseau is a person or institution only has authority if they are able to command others, for example, in our society only the police have authority to stop traffic. Rousseaus call this legitimate authority. Rousseaus idea of the state is any group of people that are controlled by a set of law that outline their behavior or conduct. We can agree that living in a civil state gives us plenty of advantages and opportunities which we would not have outside it. He need us not to be selfish. We should not be primarily concerned with our own individual aspirations and goals but act in the greater interest of the state. Occasionally, we can act according to our particular will for as long as their actions did not affect anyone. However, if the will concerns other people then it does matter. Rousseau calls the particular desires of an individual their particular will which he thinks is mostly going to be concerned with our own advantage. He also claims that the will of all is what you get if you add together the particular will of each person. He also refers to the general will. He thought that if many individuals were acting as a group, then questions would arise which required an answer from the group as a whole. This could apply to any group for example, a sports group, a social club and so on. Rousseau explains the general ,will as the will of a group. Part of joining a sports team (or any team for that matter) is that you agree to act as a member of the team when the situation demands it. You do not act as an individual. The team does not work unless each individual acts as a member of the team. The same goes for living in a civil state. Consider the statement, Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. " During the revolution many people found they could relate to Rousseau's writings and philosophical ideas, just in the same way as Jean-Louis David and his paintings. Rousseau'sidea for government seems unacceptable or impossible to us, however, his idea that Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains was strongly believed by people during the revolution. Jean-Jacques Rousseau may be the most important work is The Social Contract, which indicates the basis for a legitimate political order through a framework of classical republicanism. When it published in 1762, it became one of the most serious works of political philosophy in the Western tradition. It developed some of the ideas mentioned in an earlier work, the treatise begins with the dramatic

opening lines, "Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they. Jean-Jacques Rousseau outlined that the primitive state of nature condition without law or morality, which individual beings left for the benefits and necessity of cooperation. As society developed, division of labour and private property required the human race to adopt institutions of law. In the degenerate phase of society, man is prone to be in frequent competition with his fellow men while also becoming increasingly dependent on them. This double pressure threatens both his survival and his freedom. According to Rousseau, by joining together in civil society through the social contract and abandoning their claims of natural right, individuals can both preserve themselves and remain free. This is because submission to the authority of the general will of the people as a whole guarantees individuals against being subject to the wills of others, and also ensure that they obey themselves because they, collectively, the framers of the law. The importance of the general will: The general will, made famous by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is a concept in political referring to the desire or interest of a people as a whole, or, as the U.S. constitution puts it, the "general welfare". As used by Rousseau, the "general will" is identical to the rule of law and to Spinoza's men una". The notion of general will is wholly central to Rousseau's theory of political legitimacy.it is, however, an unfortunately obscure and controversial notion. Some commentators see it as no more than the dictatorship of the proletariat or the tyranny of the urban poor (such as may perhaps be seen in the French revolution). Such was not Rousseau's meaning. This is clear from the discourse on political economy, where Rousseau emphasizes that the general will exists to protect individuals' against the mass, not require them to be sacrificed to it. He is, of course sharply aware that men have selfish and sectional interests which will lead them to try to oppress others. It is for this reason that loyalty to the good of all alike must be a supreme (although not exclusive) commitment by everyone, not only if a truly general will is to be heeded but also if it is to be formulated successfully in the first place". The phrase, "general will" as Rousseau intended it, occurs in Article six of the declaration of the rights of man and the citizen, composed in 1789 during the French : The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to contribute personally, or through their representatives, to its formation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in its eyes, are equally admissible to all public dignities, position, and employments, according to their capacities, and without any other distinction than that of their virtues and their talents". In this case, we have the right to not obey the law , because there is not affair law that strips the right of humanity and freedom , there are examples of real life , people debated the legitimacy of governance within the ideas of Rousseau , among this the Egyptian revolution ,which was based on the principles of freedom ,social justice and equality ,and this is a fair principles ,it is the right of every human being to live a decent life .

References:

file:///C:/Users/sony/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau (http://www.smab.net/vb/redirector.php?url=%68%74%74%70%3a%2f%2f%65%6e%2e% 77%69%6b%69%70%65%64%69%61%2e%6f%72%67%2f%77%69%6b %69%2f%4a%65%61%6e%2d%4a%61%63%71%75%65%73%5f%52%6 f%75%73%73%65%61%75) visited on 15th April 2011 file:///C:/Users/sony/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif Arab Open university ,A123 Humanities: An introduction, Block 3, Unit 19-20

What is Democracy? Democracy is a form of government, a way of life, a goal, or ideal, and a political philosophy. The term also refers to a country that has a democratic form of government. The word democracy means rule by the people. United States President Abraham Lincoln described such self-government as government of the people, by the people, for the people. The citizens of a democracy take part in government either directly or indirectly. In a direct democracy, also called a pure democracy, the people meet in one place to make the laws for their community. Most modern democracy is representative democracy. In large communities cities, states, provinces, or countries it is impossible for all the people to meet as a group. Instead, they elect a certain number of their fellow citizens to represent them in making decisions about laws and other matters. An assembly of representatives may be called a council, a legislature, a parliament, or a congress. Government by the people through their freely elected representatives is sometimes called a republican government or a democratic republic. Most voting decisions in democracies are based on majority rule that more than half the votes cast. A decision by plurality may be used when three or more candidates stand for election. A candidate with a plurality receives more votes than any other candidate, but does not necessarily have a majority of the votes. In some countries, elections to legislative bodies are conducted according to proportional representation. Such representation awards a political party a

percentage of seats in the legislature in proportion to its share of the total vote cast. Throughout history, the most important aspects of the democratic way of life have been the principles of individual equality and freedom. Accordingly, citizens in a democracy should be entitled to equal protection of their persons, possessions, and rights; have equal opportunity to pursue their lives and careers; and have equal rights of political participation. In addition, the people should enjoy freedom from undue interference and domination by government. They should be free, within the framework of the law, to believe, behave, and express themselves as they wish.

Democratic societies seek to guarantee their citizens certain freedoms, including freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. Ideally, citizens also should be guaranteed freedom of association and of assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the freedom to work and live where and how they choose. Some people in democratic states have been eager to increase the role of government in society in order to make material conditions more equal for everyone. However, other people have been concerned that the extension of government's role in such areas as welfare, education, employment, and housing may decrease the freedom of the people and subject them to too much government regulation. The supporters of more government involvement are known as liberals. The critics of more government involvement are known as conservatives. The division between these groups has helped furnish one of the main themes of controversy and discussion in modern democratic societies. Features of Democracy The characteristics of democracy vary from one country to another, but certain basic features are more or less the same in all democratic nations. Free elections give the people a chance to choose their leaders and express their opinions on issues. Elections are held periodically to ensure that elected officials truly represent the people. The possibility of being voted out of office helps assure that these officials pay attention to public opinion. In most democracies, the only legal requirements for voting or for holding public office have to do with age, residence, and citizenship. The democratic process permits citizens to vote by secret ballot, free from force or bribes. It also requires that election results be protected against dishonesty. Majority Rule and Minority Rights: In a democracy, a decision often must be approved by a majority of voters before it may take effect. This principle, which is called majority rule, may be used to elect officials or decide a policy. Democracies

sometimes decide votes by plurality. Most democracies go beyond a simple majority to make fundamental or constitutional changes. In the United States, constitutional amendments must be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states or by special conventions called in three-fourths of the states. Majority rule is based on the idea that if all citizens are equal, the judgment of the many will be better than the judgment of the few. Democracy values freely given consent as the basis of legitimate and effective political power. However, democracies are also concerned with protecting individual liberty and preventing government from infringing on the freedoms of individuals. Democratic countries guarantee that certain rights can never be taken from the people, even by extremely large majorities. These rights include the basic freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and religious worship. The majority also must recognize the right of the minority to try to become the majority by legal means. Political parties are a necessary part of democratic government. Rival parties make elections meaningful by giving voters a choice among candidates who represent different interests and points of view. The United States and Great Britain have chiefly two-party systems. Many democratic countries have multi-party systems, which have more than two major parties. Often in these countries, no single party gains a majority in the legislature. As a result, two or more parties must join to make up such a majority. These parties form a coalition government. In democratic countries, the party or parties that are out of power serve as the loyal opposition. That is, they criticize the policies and actions of the party in power. In various dictatorships, criticism of the party in power may be labeled as treason. Often, only the government party is allowed to exist. The people have no real choice among candidates, and no opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the government. Controls on Power: Democracies have various arrangements to prevent any person or branch of government from becoming too powerful. For example, the U.S. Constitution divides political power between the states and the federal government. Some powers belong only to the states, some only to the federal government, and some are shared by both. The Constitution further divides the powers of the U.S. government among the President, Congress, and the federal courts. The power of each branch is designed to check or balance the power of the others. In all democratic countries, government officials are subject to the law and are accountable to the people. Officials may be removed from office for lawless conduct or for other serious reasons. The communications media help keep elected officials sensitive to public opinion. Constitutional Government: Democratic government is based on law and, in most cases, a written constitution. Constitutions state the powers and duties of government and limit what the government may do. Constitutions also say how

laws shall be made and enforced. Most constitutions have a detailed bill of rights that describes the basic liberties of the people and forbids the government to violate those rights. Constitutions that have been in effect for a long time may include certain unwritten procedures that have become important parts of the operation of government. Such procedures are a matter of custom rather than written law. Britain has no single written document called the constitution. In that country, however, certain customs and convention, as well as certain major documents and many laws, are widely accepted as the basic rules of the system. An essential characteristic of democratic government is an independent judiciary. It is the duty of the justice system to protect the integrity of the rules and the rights of individuals under these rules, especially against the government itself. Occasionally, dictatorships establish very elaborate constitutions and extensive lists of basic rights of citizens. Private Organizations: In a democracy, individuals and private organizations carry on many social and economic activities that are, for the most part, free of government control. For example, newspapers and magazines are privately owned and managed. Labor unions are run by and for the benefit of workers, not the state. Democratic governments generally do not interfere with religious worship. Private schools operate along with public schools. The people may form groups to influence opinion on public issues and policies. Most businesses in democratic societies are privately owned and managed. Britain, Sweden, and other democracies have government ownership and control of certain basic industries and services. In dictatorial societies, the government alone may organize and control most associations. The people are not permitted to establish or join most groups without the permission of the state. In some countries, the government almost completely owns and manages the economy.