Readify
Download App

From Natural Dependence to Civic Association

The Social Contract

This flow traces the book’s central passage from independent human beings to a legitimate political community intended to preserve freedom through common action.

increasingupBearing stren­gth in each eventdowndecreasing
Freedom in ChainsFreedom in Chains from "The Social Contract". Freedom in Chains The Problem The opening image sets natural freedom against the political bonds people actually endure.
Freedom in Chains The Problem The opening image sets natural freedom against the political bonds people actually endure. Rousseau asks not how those bonds arose, but what could make them legitimate. The Inquiry The question turns the book from lament into argument: social order is not natural authority, but must rest on convention.
Force RejectedForce Rejected from "The Social Contract". Force Rejected No Moral Right Physical strength can compel obedience, but cannot transform necessity into duty.
Force Rejected No Moral Right Physical strength can compel obedience, but cannot transform necessity into duty. A stronger power may replace a weaker one without establishing justice. Convention Required Rousseau therefore rejects force as the basis of authority and turns to agreements among free people.
Association NecessaryAssociation Necessary from "The Social Contract". Association Necessary A Collective Danger Individual strength eventually proves insufficient to overcome the obstacles to preservation.
Association Necessary A Collective Danger Individual strength eventually proves insufficient to overcome the obstacles to preservation. Without combining their resources, people risk perishing. The Political Problem Association must protect each person while allowing each to obey himself. This tension defines the social compact’s purpose.
The Compact FormedThe Compact Formed from "The Social Contract". The Compact Formed Mutual Surrender Each associate places person and power under the direction of the whole community, on equal terms with everyone else.
The Compact Formed Mutual Surrender Each associate places person and power under the direction of the whole community, on equal terms with everyone else. A New Public Person The agreement creates a collective moral body, called State in its passive aspect and Sovereign in its active one. Individuals become citizens as participants and subjects under its laws.
Civil Freedom GainedCivil Freedom Gained from "The Social Contract". Civil Freedom Gained A Changed Condition Civil association replaces impulse with justice and gives actions a moral dimension.
Civil Freedom Gained A Changed Condition Civil association replaces impulse with justice and gives actions a moral dimension. People exchange unlimited natural liberty for liberty bounded by the common law. Self-Rule Rousseau’s resolution is not freedom from every restraint, but obedience to a law people prescribe to themselves. Political union is legitimate when it secures that condition.
At the opening of Book I
Book I, Chapters III–IV
Book I, Chapter VI
Book I, Chapter VI, at the act of association
Book I, Chapter VIII, after the compact