Rishav Kundu — 2019121007

Prompt: At the end of Chapter VII (On the Sovereign) of Book I in On the Social Contract, Rousseau writes: "whoever refuses to obey the general will will be forced to do so by the entire body."

Trace the line of reasoning which leads Rousseau to make this statement.

1. The social contract takes the following essential form: "Each of us places his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will; and as one we receive each member as an in- divisible part of the whole".
2. The formation of the social contract entails a reciprocal agreement between the state and individuals and each individual is obliged to two commitments: one towards fellow citizens, and two: towards the state.
3. Each individual has a private will that is contrary to the general will that he has as a citizen.
4. Such a will would lead him to believe that his duty towards the common can be done away with
5. Via this belief, he would want to enjoy the rights of a citizen fulfilling his duties as a subject of the state.
6. This would eventually bring about the failure of the social contract.
7. Thus, each member of the common must be coerced into performing his duties by the general body.
8. This is not an undesirable thing for Rousseau, as he feels that "merely [...] he will be forced to be free", i.e. the participation of the individual in the social contract (whether voluntary or coerced) replaces his natural liberties with civil liberties, which are far more powerful.