Reflections on the General Will's Sovereignty
This chapter explores more fully Rousseau's conception of the general will, the cornerstone of a free community of equals. It discusses the sense in which the general will is a will; the way(s) in which it is general; the kind of consensus about the common good required in the society of the general will; how majority rule is compatible with the idea that individuals follow ‘their own will’ when they comply with the general will; and whether there are rights in the society of the general will.
Keywords: majority rule, sovereignty, will, consensus, Condorcet, rights, self-legislation, Rousseau, reason, alienation
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .