Citizenship According To The Philosopher Rousseau

Citizenship according to the philosopher Rousseau

The general will is indestructible

To maintain a state in which the general will prevails, it is necessary, that all citizens are united and manage to maintain the good of all. Since, if the private good is the one that prevails above the common good of the citizens, it will reach a point where the State does not survive and the ruin occurs. In addition to the citizens to remain united, it is necessary for the people to have their act of vote freely, as well as the action of expressing their opinion, of debating and disagreeing with the opinions of others. All this will result in a state that remains in force with a lasting existence.

Of the votes

Within the government, citizens must have similar ideas, otherwise the will would not be so general and the social pact carried out would no longer be with a general will and as a result it would give a part of citizens with their lost freedom. This cannot be so, since for democracy there is men, men must exercise their right to vote in which the people can decide with total freedom to those who want to choose as overeño. This is seen in suffrage, that for all citizen to exercise their right to vote, this must be universal without any restrictions.

Of the elections

When choosing a representative, it could be seen as if everything were the work of fortune, but also in democracy other points are also added that are also taken into account such as justice, loyalty or principles of order.

After the result of the elections, it can be verified whether a good democracy has been made or not. If only the elections are taken through fortune, only good sense will be needed, while, in democracy, the individual’s intelligence is also needed. Not only the elections, they go from the day the representatives are voted, it goes far back. It covers from the beginning in which it is decided when they will be held, the above events, etc. This takes advantage of it and used them for benefit.

Of the Roman elections

It is described as in ancient Rome its administrations was organized. These were the elections, which became the most organized of the time and organized in curias, decurias, centuries and cantons. In these elections you could already observe a glimpse of voting that were made. Although this already happened, there was also corruption, fraud and purchase of votes in this, in which they took advantage of citizens. We can see that not only these situations occur today, also as mentioned above, at the time of Rousseau but also since the beginning of democracy.

Of the Court

In the situation in which within the government there is no equity between its different parts, an institution is created that is separated from others to replace everything in order and with different relationships as it suits as the prince with the people, the sovereignWith the people or the sovereign with the prince. This mediating institution is called the Tribunal, who retains legislative laws and power. As well as sometimes defends the sovereign of the people. Not being part of the State does not have any of the powers, however, so it has such great power since, although it cannot do anything, it can prevent it. But thus, as it is invincible, it is often blinded by this power and becomes a tyrant. In order for the government not to have a tribunate in this way, you must ensure that it is not permanent and that it has a time limit that is not so long since the abuses can still be given.

Of the dictatorship

Within the government, there are times when crisis occurs, that the situation is tense, because the laws are inflexible. This may be because there are several members within the State that make alterations in this and cannot continue with the regular government functioning. Therefore, if it happens that the laws become an impediment of this regular functioning, the figure of the sovereign is suspended giving way to the appointment of another that is above these laws and administrations. It is the dictator. This figure is constituted, especially to preserve the security of the country, although there should never be a figure that involves a higher power to the laws. But many times this figure, which was constituted so that in a limited time preserves the security of the country without attempting, it is thirsty for power and therefore becomes a dictator with tyranny. Something that should not happen. Therefore, the time of stay as a dictator must be established so that it does not exceed the limits.

Of censorship

Censorship governs the public opinion of citizens, as well as, the general will is measured by law. In public opinion, if compared to the State, its minister would be the censor who is responsible for applying censorship in cases where it is necessary to apply it, such as the government when applying the laws. In cases where censorship must be carried out for the State for the actions it has carried out, you must have a great weight. Many times, the people cannot carry out this censorship because as a result it would have their own censorship, since whoever represents them is the State. Therefore, censorship should be given in those cases in which customs and straight behaviors are committed by those who want to silence them.

Of civil religion

In this chapter, Rousseau comments on the relationship of religion and the State from the first moment in which it was presented. In the beginning, he tells that in the Roman era there were several gods, but that with the arrival of Jesus it was established, as the Bible says, the kingdom of heaven on earth, a spiritual kingdom that is intangible. From this moment on, a separation must be made between religion and the State, since as mentioned before, the kingdom of Jesus is spiritual, of another reality. Initially, man recognized the gods as kings and only governed them by theology, at first that was fine with everyone since, for all there was someone superior to them who ruled them. But little by little this was changing as well as mentalities, since a great mental effort and clear ideas were required to be able to name an equal as a representative of the general will of the people. In addition, Rousseau comments that there are different types of religions within civil society: the religion of man, which is the pure of the gospel in which a supreme god is cultured;The citizen’s religion occurs within a country where laws are like dogmas and representatives would come to occupy the position of the gods, in addition those who fail to comply with this become unfaithful;The extravagant religion in which there are two representatives, two laws and two homeland. He concludes by saying that despite the fact that these types exist, anyone can be submitted to any exclusive religion and all types of dogmas that do not contradict the rights of the citizen should be tolerate.

conclusion

To conclude with the construction of the social pact, Rousseau reinforces it with the creation of an outer layer that encompasses foreign relations such as trade, the right to make war and conquests … regarding other countries.