Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract.
Introduction
This paper attempts to read “On the Social Contract” (Du contract social, 1762), one of the main works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).
The figure depicted in the above frontispiece holds a balance in his right hand and a spear in his left. The figure is clearly Justitia, or Lady Justice.
This Justitia does not hold a balance in her right hand, but a piece of cloth.
Above the frontispiece, an epigraph quotes a passage from Virgil's Aeneid (Vergilius, Aeneis).
― fœderis æquas
Dicamus leges,
The meaning of this passage should be considered in conjunction with the engraving of Justitia seen above. The balance in Justitia's hand represents equity. Justice, in other words, means fairness.
On the title paper, Rousseau introduces himself as a ‘citizen of Geneva’ (Citoyen de Geneve). In Geneva (Genève), where Rousseau was born, a status system existed. But the status system is unequal.
The inhabitants of the Republic of Geneva were divided into distinct categories of status. Only civilians and commoners could attend civil assemblies, and only civilians could hold public office. The residents who had emigrated and had been granted residency rights, the second generation of Geneva-born newcomers and the dependent population living on the territory of the Republic did not have the right of suffrage. Moreover, the upper echelons of the civic class were privileged and influential, monopolising important public offices such as the Small Council. In addition, the 1600-strong civic assembly was rarely held, and real power was held by the privileged families who monopolised seats on the small council and the 200-strong council (grand council), which was effectively an aristocracy. Ordinary civilians could only protest. Against this republican background, Rousseau dared to mention the civic status of his parents in his "Confessions", and in later years boasted of being a 'citizen of Geneva' himself.
Let us read Rousseau's “On the social contract” as a covert resistance to such a status system.
(continue)
Literature
この記事が気に入ったらサポートをしてみませんか？