Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Collectivism

I Believe · Nov 21, 2023 · 8m

Collectivism is a social and political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of the common good — what’s best for society. If collectivism sounds good, why did American founders reject it?Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), writing a century after John Locke, is the foundational Western philosopher of collectivism. Rousseau starkly contrasted John Locke’s individualism (see John Locke: Ownership of Self, from last week).While both critiqued the absolute authority of monarchs, Rousseau, in his 1762 The Social Contract, introduced the general will, which posited the community and not the…