Beyond Liberalism: The Moral Community of Rousseau's Social Contract

Abstract

This article argues that Rousseau's Social Contract both upholds and transcends liberal concepts of political right. Rather than maintaining a distinction between public right and public good, Rousseau tries to collapse the division between the two in order to effect a transition from a bourgeois society to a moral community. In his view, individuals are best protected from each other by participating in the formation of a community of equals. Rousseau's conception of morality is not based on absolutes, but is a process whereby individuals consciously integrate themselves into the community. This presupposes a desire to belong on the part of individuals, and recognizes their propensity to distance themselves from the social order. Rather than trying to eradicate the tension between individuality and integration, Rousseau affirms that the effort to reconcile this tension is the foundation of morality.