Liberalism: Alternative Vision “With liberty, wherever abundance reigns, well-

being also reigns.” –J.J. Rousseau “Law & institutions must go hand in hand with

progress of human mind. …” T. Jefferson “Fraternity, liberty & equality isolated from

communal life are hopeless abstraction. …” John Dewey

Liberalism as discussed previously has been connected to capitalism, but liberalism realizing the political & social cost to modern market societies, decided to construct a modern, equitable & egalitarian political community

Liberalism: Alternative Vision This egalitarian political community, however, is

subject to the ‘never-ending competitiveness & crass materialism of the market.”

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) is one of the political theorists who gave the clearest early alternative ideological view of this liberal ideology; others were

Thomas Jefferson and John Dewey –they expressed Alternative Liberalism in America

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788) The 3rd person to employed the metaphor: “State

of Nature.”

J. J. Rousseau [1712-1788] In his ‘state of nature,’ he tried to state the nature

(how man acted) before the introduction of government. His position was far more superior to that of Hobbes & Locke –the first two to use the state of nature metaphor

Locke & Hobbes expressed their “state of nature” from imaginative construct, I.e. of what civilization would look like if government is removed; but

Rousseau expressed the state of nature from a “historical, evolutionary description of humanity from pre-historic time to the relative present

J. J. Rousseau [1712-1788] Human nature he said, evolved into social beings

& then moved to civilization; while Hobbes & Hobbes restricted their argument to people who were already civilized.

Rousseau’s account of humanity’s evolution into social beings was chronicled in his book: “Discourse on the Origin & Foundations of Inequality among Men.”

He started with the description of the life of our “proto human ancestors –who were, “amoral & asocial” creatures, but blessed with sufficient food, natural shelters, but lacked reasons for sustained interactions among themselves

J. J. Rousseau Because their natural environment provided

them with everything, they had very simple lives; so they became lazy, contented, & peaceful.

Rousseau contended that they acted well, but operated on 2 principal motivations:

1. 1st motivation was “anterior to reasons” i.e. “self-preservation” &

2. “Commiseration.” Self-preservation meant that they did not

struggle for scarce resources

J. J. Rousseau Commiseration (pitie`): “a natural repugnance to

see any sensitive being perish or suffer, principally our fellowmen.”; thus,

Rousseau was suggesting that, man in his state of nature acted on impulse, which extended to all sensitive beings, making our ancestors, Vegetarians

Our ancestors were therefore, unreflective, which produced “moral” behavior; so

Rousseau called them (proto humans) “noble savages.” Even though he suggested that they also have “free will,””perfectibilite`, & imagination –as additional capabilities

Rousseau Over the course of time, this “noble savages”

began to expand to acquire additional energy to meet the new, largely superfluous demands & wants. As Rousseau put it: “The first man who made himself clothing or a dwelling, in doing so gave himself things that were hardly necessary.”

Then needs & wants developed –and this led to the extent that He became incapable of being satisfied or fulfilled.

This led to a situation where wants have exceeded needs & human begin to develop into social creatures. p. 89 –3rd paragraph

Rousseau Human free will (we are “free agents”) &

consciousness separates us from other creatures, like animals.

The faculty, Rousseau agrees with Karl Marx, is what enables us to perfect all our other talents & abilities.

Our development has to an extent led man to become an “imbecile” for example:

1. “In the temporary hunting-gathering associations, there were sufficient to meet emerging needs of humanity”

Rousseau2. “As psychological needs developed, more

permanent relationships were desired, & families were formed.”

3. Rousseau believed that this early familial stage gave “rise to the sweetest sentiments known to humans.”

4. The developments as in 1-3 gave rise to our transition into “Civil Society” caused again by the creation of Market Property Rights; so

The 1st “person who, having fenced off a plot of ground, took into his head to say: ‘This is mine. He found people simple enough to accept this.

This was the true founder of a civil society

Rousseau’s “State of Nature.” “What crimes, wars, murders, what miseries & horrors

would the human race have been spared by someone who, uprooting the stakes or filling in the ditch had shouted to his fellowmen: Beware of listening to this imposter; you are lost if you forget that the fruits belong to all & the earth to no one!”

Before property rights, (which allowed individuals to exclude others) was invented, there were random, sporadic eruptions of violence –this was not rampant or the norm, however.But

With the creation of Property Rights, the peaceful coexistence in pre-civilized humanity came to an abrupt end –so, what followed was:

Rousseau Constant, systematic, all-pervasive competition &

exploitation of people by one another –so equality disappeared as property was introduced

Labor became necessary; vast forests were changed into “smiling fields” which had to be watered with the sweat of man & so,

Slavery & misery were soon to germinate & grow with the crops

Sporadic & random violence in pre-modern society exchanged for a Constant, systematic, all-inclusive exploitation of individual by individual where smiles are now extracted by the “sweat, enslavement, & misery of others

Rousseau’s Second Discourse His “Second Discourse” was about how Human

History Has Reached the point where Hobbes & Locke began their arguments about the “state of nature.”

Hobbes,& Locke, Rousseau believed described in their “state of nature” their own 17th & 19th centuries English men & women who were civilized beings, thus had changed enormously

They (Hobbes & Locke) looked at economic inequality & class divisions that further developed between (1) those who owned & (2) those who did not own property –this was why a “general condition of war prevailed.”

Rousseau’s second discourse So, the property owners were “pressed by

necessity, they devised clever schemes to deceive the rest of the people into establishing Government to protect their property

According to Rousseau, the rich deliberately conceived of the “Social Contract” & designed it to protect the rich from the poor in the name of achieving “Justice For All.”

All the men were fooled with the social contract, as they never knew they were being Chained but they thought they had freedom

Rousseau claimed therefore that the modern state is constructed atop a fraudulent contract -

Rousseau’s Social Contract, 1762 It must be overthrown in order for us to establish a

legitimate community (p. 91, read from 3rd paragraph to the end)

“SOCIALCONTRACT.” (1762) p. 92 He reminded us of our past, & the predicaments of

the present; so he said that: “Man was born to be free.” But everywhere, he is in

chains “Man is his own Master by nature, yet he is greater

slave than before. So, Rousseau exposes in modern societies, “self-

deceptive nature of modern life” where people think they are free, yet they are not

Rousseau’s “Social Contract” The modern person is the creature of

“alienation” which is self-inflicted and self-endured. That is why, individuals agreed to establish a State, trusting it would bring them freedom; instead, it established “Inequality & the rule of the rich for the rich with the appearance of the rule for all.

This alienation is a direct consequence of “free will”

Rousseau understood the awesome power of domination when individual enslave others under the guise of autonomy or freedom, which is a fraud.

Rousseau on “social contract.” His social contract would be where individuals

would willingly & knowingly consent to live together under three conditions with

1) property 2) positive freedom & 3) free participation of individual citizens There should moderate equality of property –this

is necessary to a harmonious society & it must be one of the most important functions of government; i.e.

Rousseau on the ills of modern society to prevent extreme inequality of fortunes; but

this is to be done, not by taking away the wealth from its possessors, but by depriving all men of the means to accumulate it

Government should not do all these by building hospitals for the poor, but by securing the citizens from becoming poor

The role of government is to prevent & combat the creation of antagonistic class relationships through legislation, taxes, luxury taxes, for an example –this is designed to “redistribute” wealth; so that

Rousseau on the ills of modern society “No citizen shall ever be wealthy enough to buy

another, and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself,” “Rousseau explained.”

Rousseau was alarmed at wage slavery by which modern citizens were oppressed; to guard against this, Rousseau suggested that every be made to own “Limited” amount of Property because according to him “Ownership” is the most Sacred” of all Rights

Limited property ownership is to him, an instrument for securing freedom –ultimate goal of all society therefore should be freedom;

But freedom without economic security is evil

Rousseau’s solution to the ills of modern society

A “One Class” society where everyone had means