On Rousseau

Since I have mentioned the name of my teacher, the great French thinker, Rousseau ( 1712-1768 ) often in my posts, some people asked me about him.

 I suggest you begin by reading Will Durant's ' The Story of Civilization'. It is in several volumes, and should be available in any good library. It is in several volumes, and you should pick up the volume entitled ' Rousseau and Revolution '.and read it thoroughly. That will give you a good idea to begin with.

 The ' expression ' general will ' used often by Rousseau, and popularized in the great French Revolution of 1789 ( about which also you should read ), really meant the sovereignty of the people. This was in sharp contrast to the concept then still prevailing in some quarters that the sovereign is the king. Rousseau said that it is not the king but the people who are supreme. This is the foundation of all modern democracies.

 Thus, while the theory of divine right of kings ( whose main proponent was King James 1 of England ) held that the king is supreme, being the Viceroy of God, and the people are subordinate to him, and therefore should always be obeyed, Rousseau, using the secular social contract theory,reversed this relationship, and said that it is the people who are supreme, and all state authorities, are their servants.

 Though the English thinker Locke had introduced the concept in  his ' Second treatise on Civil Government ', ( in which he postulated the theory of ' natural rights ' of citizens, which even the king could not infringe ), he made compromises in it, which Rousseau never did.

99% of all people are good

Despite the Paris attack in which several persons were killed, and despite Haji Yaqoob Qureshi, I will repeat again what I have been repeatedly been saying : 99% people of all communities are good people. So 99% Hindus are good people, and so are 99% Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, and people of all religions, castes, races, languages, regions and nationalities. 99% Pakistanis are good people, and so are 99% Indians and 99% Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Sriklankans, Burmese, Americans, Europeans, Chinese, Arabs, Africans, etc

 This is what my teacher, the great French thinker Rousseau taught me over 50 years ago when i was a very young man, and this is the belief I will retain till my death.

 I will disgrace myself before my teacher ( who for me is still alive ) if I deviate an inch from this belief. I would rather die than do that

Voltaire and Rousseau

Voltaire and Rousseau are the two main intellectual creators of modern Europe. They both attacked feudalism. They complement each other, the one emphasizing reason and the other emotion.

Voltaire attacked superstitions and religous bigotry ( see Voltaire's ''Çandide'and 'Zadig'). Rousseau attacked the entire feudal system (see Rousseau's 'The Social Contract' and the 'Discourse on Inequality'). While Voltaire said that we should rely on reason and science instead of superstitions and dogma, Rousseau said that reason without passion (to fight against injustice) was sterile.

Please read Will Durant's 'The Story of Civilization': 'The Age of Voltaire' and 'Rousseau and Revolution'