The Social Contract

the social contract

is it possible for the individual to submit to the general will and still be free?

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According to Rousseau, when people join together to form a community, they create a political body with a life and will of its own. By giving all of his rights to the sovereign and thus to all of its members, a citizen gives himself to no one in particular. He gains the equivalent of the freedom that he loses, and now has a greater amount of force to protect his life and property.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/the-social-contract/study-guide/summary-book-i-chapters-v-ix