Rousseau’s Discourse on The Origin and The Foundations of Inequality Among Men discuss why inequality is social through the comparison of natural men and civilized men. Rousseau believes that the division of labor is due to amour propre, or self-love, that is specific to civilized men. By tracing the differences between natural men and civilized men, Rousseau is able to showcase the effects of division of labor. Division of labor requires human dependency, differentiation and specialization, and a civilized society— all are factors that contribute to the inequality among men. Rousseau begins his account by acknowledging two types of inequalities in the exordium: natural and moral. The discourse focuses on the moral, or political, inequality,
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This is important to note because dependency is the source to many ferocious human habits, including slavery. Dependency is specific to civilized men because they are social beings. The relationship, or dependency, between a slave and a slave owner shows the negative effects of dependency. Slaves need slave owners to provide food, and slave owners need slaves for labor. Self-preservation, Rousseau introduces as the only concern for natural men, allows natural men to develop skills that are only necessary for survival purposes. The historical development of civilized men, according to Rousseau, is due to reason. Civilized men have the ability to reason because they desire comprehensibility, something that has no use to natural men as they do not have desire or fear. Reason allows a civilized man to make sense of pity, a sentiment that thrives in natural men, but it has a weak presence in civilized men. Reason, in turn, can destroy pity within Civilized men, thus endorsing unequal activities, as one is incapable of understanding another on in harm. Rousseau’s remodeling of a natural man showcases his endorsement of a natural way of living, an equal way of …show more content…
According the Rousseau, one whom claimed a piece of land is the father of a Civilized society. That is, private property is the basis of inequality. The development of private property due to differentiation, based on Rousseau’s analysis, led to division of labor. Rousseau states that once dependency is established, property is formed. He specifically identifies metallurgy and agriculture as the two arts that revolutionized dependency and the division of labor. It is all through history that shows how men are natural if and only if they are independent— an individual can perform a task by him or herself. Dependency disrupts equality because private property and labor are derived from one relying another to increase usefulness, or productivity. Rousseau believes in a regressive system, as suggested by his reconstruction of natural men to their primitive state. To Rousseau, only natural men are equal, have pity, and are peaceful. Capitalism, focusing on the accumulation of capital, contradicts Rousseau’s beliefs. In fact, Rousseau criticizes Hobbes, who have similar beliefs to Smith’s view on Capitalism, for not knowing virtue and thinking he’s “the sole owner of the entire Universe” (Rousseau 151). Here, Rousseau is gesturing that under a system like Capitalism, amour propre overrides everything,
This is important to note because dependency is the source to many ferocious human habits, including slavery. Dependency is specific to civilized men because they are social beings. The relationship, or dependency, between a slave and a slave owner shows the negative effects of dependency. Slaves need slave owners to provide food, and slave owners need slaves for labor. Self-preservation, Rousseau introduces as the only concern for natural men, allows natural men to develop skills that are only necessary for survival purposes. The historical development of civilized men, according to Rousseau, is due to reason. Civilized men have the ability to reason because they desire comprehensibility, something that has no use to natural men as they do not have desire or fear. Reason allows a civilized man to make sense of pity, a sentiment that thrives in natural men, but it has a weak presence in civilized men. Reason, in turn, can destroy pity within Civilized men, thus endorsing unequal activities, as one is incapable of understanding another on in harm. Rousseau’s remodeling of a natural man showcases his endorsement of a natural way of living, an equal way of …show more content…
According the Rousseau, one whom claimed a piece of land is the father of a Civilized society. That is, private property is the basis of inequality. The development of private property due to differentiation, based on Rousseau’s analysis, led to division of labor. Rousseau states that once dependency is established, property is formed. He specifically identifies metallurgy and agriculture as the two arts that revolutionized dependency and the division of labor. It is all through history that shows how men are natural if and only if they are independent— an individual can perform a task by him or herself. Dependency disrupts equality because private property and labor are derived from one relying another to increase usefulness, or productivity. Rousseau believes in a regressive system, as suggested by his reconstruction of natural men to their primitive state. To Rousseau, only natural men are equal, have pity, and are peaceful. Capitalism, focusing on the accumulation of capital, contradicts Rousseau’s beliefs. In fact, Rousseau criticizes Hobbes, who have similar beliefs to Smith’s view on Capitalism, for not knowing virtue and thinking he’s “the sole owner of the entire Universe” (Rousseau 151). Here, Rousseau is gesturing that under a system like Capitalism, amour propre overrides everything,