Great Social Ideas

Many great ideas were studied this semester and it seems to be possible to break them up into two very broad camps; psychology or social. There are several great social ideas that were studied each with their own impact. Three of the great social ideas that have had an impact on the world are Democracy, Feminism and Science. The first great idea is Democracy. Democracy’s first ideas were started with The Social Contract by Rousseau. Rousseau wrote that people must give up some of their rights to be protected by the state. Rousseau defines democracy as most of the citizens being magistrates and he doesn’t seem to believe that democracy is viable. Rousseau believes that a major failing point for democracy would be the corruption of the ruling people. De Tocqueville and Ibsen see different reasons democracy would fail. They see democracy as failing due to the tyranny of the majority. The majority would have control of the government and would ensure that their will was the will that was exerted. Ibsen seems to have written his play An Enemy of the People based off the terror that the majority can bring to a minority of people. Ibsen used the examples of restricting the freedom of information and …show more content…
This idea would be the second best in terms of allowing society to function healthily. Science wouldn’t seem like the natural second choice to allow for society to function in a health manner but the discoveries brought about by science allow for society to move forward and advance while at the same time understand the world around it and see where things have come from. Darwin’s observations in “The Galapagos Archipelago” and The Origin of Species are examples of this. Darwin’s work from observing the Galapagos allowed for people to understand evolution and where species come from. This understanding allows for more understanding of species throughout time and what can cause new species to come