Marx Vs Rousseau Social Contract

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The social contract, which is agreed upon by the majority of the citizens is based on the general will of the people, that aims for the common good of each individual in the state. It aims at structuring the state, so that people can live in a civilized society as well as pleasing each individual. However it also intends to create rules and laws, which construct a safe and secure environment for the citizens of the said state. Thus it is based on laws rather than power. Being a part of this contract one has to give up ‘the physical freedom’ that is to do any thing one pleases to do, yet one gains the ‘civil freedom’ of acting rationally and morally. By agreeing to the social contract citizens agree to a civil society that is build upon laws …show more content…
In order for the social contract to succeed and for people to live happily together, laws are created and shall be obeyed and respected by the citizens as well as by the government and rulers. Laws are what the citizens desire the most in a state; ultimately they are recorded as what the citizens hope the state shall provide them. Rousseau believes that those rules and laws are the soul of the state. The beauty of rules is that people would obey them yet lose …show more content…
“[T]he severity of penalties is only a vain resource, invented by little minds to substitute terror for that respect which they have no means of obtaining” . Thus, according to Rousseau the government should make the laws match the general will of the people additionally instead of using punishment and terror the government should try to prevent it in the first place and “establish the reign of virtue” , which will contribute to the prevention of crimes in the state. The term “morality” has a huge importance within the limits of the state and especially the civil state that is conducted upon the social contract. In order to reach mortality citizens need to become virtuous and come together for the common good and the general will of the state. When Citizens understand the significance of laws to their common good, they will start to respect them and act accordingly to their duties. Rousseau further on claims that in order for the social contract to be successful, citizens must love their duties. It’s not enough to be virtuous but it’s very important to love and respect our duty toward the state. “But when citizens love their

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