POL SCI 6C Lecture 4: Section: Rousseau, Locke, and Machiavelli
Document Summary
People are always living according to what society says. Ex: you do not dress a certain way to school. You don"t normally wear a tie because it is not the norm. The concept of the general will comes into play here. We need to think of the general will - what is best for everyone. His argument is that people aren"t really free, so people should be in on the policy and establish it together. There is no minority in this society: pity . Rousseau discusses how pity is a strong motivator of the actions of men. In the state of nature man is guided by self preservation and pity. According to locke, man is guided by reason. Locke is stating that as we go into society for better. Rousseau thinks we go into society and get worse. He wants to go back to the state of nature. Rousseau describes humans in the state of nature as animalistic.