Law in Service of Plunder

Rousseau’s Social Contract, part 6

This week we’re covering Book 2, Chapter 6: Law, and Chapter 7: The Legislator. Rousseau’s peculiar definition of Law comes more into play, and the dangerous ideas he has about what makes “perfect” legislation raises its ugly and tyrannical head.

Full show notes here.

Basically, Rousseau thinks that a State must make public so much of the nation’s wealth as to make any group of individuals (to include the whole people!) helpless against it. That means plenty of opportunities for grift and corruption, and a people cowed into dependence and helplessness.

Then, Rousseau explains what makes a good Legislator, completely ignores his earlier statement that he’s looking at man “as he is,” and makes up a bunch of unattainable criteria that tend to make any practical State into a cesspool of public choice theory problems.

I also note that Rousseau is getting more wordy here, seemingly in an attempt to obfuscate and fluff up the things he’s calling arguments. It’s… pretty bad.

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

Return to the table of contents for this guide.

Reference Links:

My coverage of Locke’s Second Treatise, Chs. 9 & 10, use of term “commonwealth”
https://marginalnonhermit.com/?p=676

My coverage of Kropotkin’s Conquest of Bread, Ch. 12, people thrown out of communes
https://marginalnonhermit.com/?p=754

My coverage of Locke’s Second Treatise, Chs. 12 & 13, separation of powers
https://marginalnonhermit.com/?p=680

Volume 1 of William Warburton of Gloucester’s works
https://archive.org/details/worksofrightreve01warb_0/page/128/mode/2up

Intro quote by Frederic Bastiat, from The Law:
https://mises.org/library/book/law

Intro music by Dvir Silver, courtesy Pixabay:
https://pixabay.com/users/sonican-38947841/

Thumbnail image by Sigmund, courtesy Unsplash:
https://unsplash.com/@sigmund