On Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s (1712-1778) The Social Contract, and John Locke’s (1632-1704) The Second Treatise of the Government, they both agreed that the only way to insure the effectivity of the General Will in the Social Contract is by total participation. This means that everyone is obliged to comply with the General Will and if not, they should be compelled to do so. Furthermore, various historical accounts show that some countries used revolution (by citizens) when their government went out of the real idea of the General Will. Hence, this paper tries to prove that revolution is an expression of General Will. In here, the notable French and American Revolutions are used as manifestations of the ideas presented by Locke and Rousseau.
First, it is important to establish a succinct definition of General Will. According to Rousseau, man is naturally good and free but he still needs to enter the Social Contract to be a nobler kind of individual and be dependent with others and others with him. As he enters, he acquires a different kind of liberty, the Civil, which is limited by the General Will.
Meanwhile, the General Will is the common interest or the intersection of the interests of all citizens in the community and who enter the Social Contract. It is always for the common good. It demands the complete obedience of every individual; if one disagrees with it, he must then be compelled to obey still. Rousseau further asserts that each person wants to be good and liberal and therefore, would want to obey the General Will since only through it that people could attain these. It is inviolable, infallible and so, ALWAYS right. However, Rousseau also insists in his work that every man is free, equal, and independent; thereby, all should have equal power and influence on the General Will that even the government can’t claim a greater advantage on it.
In the part of the General Will’s implementation, based on Rousseau’s thoughts on authority by convention, the government is the one responsible for it. It should serve the interests of the whole community and at the same time, can’t do anything without the consent of all inasmuch as everyone is sovereign towards the state. To clarify, it’s not only the government but everyone has no right to do anything without the consent of all (that’s why one has to be compelled to follow the General Will, albeit he thinks he disagrees, since it is consented by the convention).
The history of the French Revolution (1789–1799) is one of the best examples of Rousseau’s theory of General Will. If we can remember, the French people used the ideas of Rousseau, the equality, liberty and fraternity, as the national motto of their revolution. They revolt to the reigning terror authority, the Jacobin Faction (1793-94), whose leader, Maximilien Robespierre, abused the General Will and deviated from its main concept by using it as a way to express his particular will. He used the General Will to justify imposing a dictatorship that would create a “republic of virtue” and “accordingly” rid France of corruption and moral decay. However, the French people went against it for they experienced a terrible dictatorship showing that it’s not really for their good. In expressing the general will, we can say that the citizens had the right to rebel here because what Robespierre wanted was not anymore part of the mutual convention, not significant to the state and not for the common good and interest. The French people, by Rousseau’s ideas, had the right to refuse to obey the “pretending” General Will.
John Locke’s work also ratifies the Right to Rebel (in the Social Contract) when the common interest is being violated. According to him, the government should only do what is for the common good. It should protect its people’s Right to Property (life, liberty, and estate) which is under the Natural Law. It must not allow its people’s life to get miserable or must not put long chains of abuses (not a little mismanagement) on them. Otherwise, the people could provoke a revolution against it and consequently, might lose its legitimacy and be overthrown.
At similar cases, the American Revolution (1775-1783) started when the British government attempted to pass some laws, enforce SEVERAL taxes and increase MORE control over the colonies of America. As a response, these colonies strongly objected to these laws and taxes and instigated a revolution against the British authority. This Right to Rebel was legitimate, by Locke’s idea, because the government couldn’t take away the property of the people without their consent. And, also, the above actions were enough to be called a long chain of abuses not just a little mismanagement.
By these proofs, it is then clear that revolution is an expression of General Will. The people, by entering the Social Contract, gain the Civil Liberty under the General Will and thus also gain the Right to Rebel against unjust rulers. Indeed, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke’s analyses are the best to use as ways to comprehend this philosophy.
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