Fig Leaves in Service of Tyranny

Rousseau’s Social Contract, part 3

This week, we are finishing up Book 1 of Rousseau’s Social Contract. Three more chapters, and unfortunately Rousseau repeats and confirms the unlimited power of the State in his framework.

Full show notes here.

He does get at one important issue: the ethereal nature of natural rights. Even the most self-consistent framework of moral rules is vulnerable to a person who simply refuses to give it any weight. However, Rousseau’s solution seems to be to subsume the individual into a permanent totalitarian nightmare. Personally, I think I’d rather risk running into someone who denies morality every once in a while than live permanently under the thumb of some mystical “general will.”

In these three chapters, we find a couple more major contradictions (how can a State be bad if it is the source of all moral judgment?), some rather distressing subterfuge (Rousseau putting off arguments until after he can propagandize more), and constant assumptions that the best possible version of his system will be the one that ends up being implemented, while totally ignoring the bad incentives and dangerous lack of limits.

This video is available on Odysee, YouTube, and BitChute.

Return to the table of contents for this critique here.

References:
Murray N. Rothbard, “The Ethics of Liberty”
https://mises.org/library/book/ethics-liberty

Rothbard, “Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature”
https://mises.org/mises-daily/egalitarianism-revolt-against-nature-0

Locke’s Second Treatise, Chapters 1 & 2 (my coverage); the State of Nature
https://marginalnonhermit.com/?p=663

Locke Chapters 3 & 4; The State of War and Slavery
https://marginalnonhermit.com/?p=666

Locke Ch. 11: Of the Extent of the Legislative Power
https://marginalnonhermit.com/?p=678

My Critique of Kropotkin’s “The Conquest of Bread”
https://marginalnonhermit.com/?page_id=767

Intro quote by Thorsten Polleit:
https://mises.org/online-book/global-currency-plot/15-illusion-democracy-iron-law-oligarchy

Intro music by MFCC, courtesy Pixabay:
https://pixabay.com/users/mfcc-28627740/