Essay about A Discourse on Inequality

Inequality exists around us. One of the inequalities is the income received by a person or member of a family. This income includes wages, salaries, pensions, and interest derived from assets. Income inequality refers to the various income within a given population. This inequality is especially high in the United States.

He considered the human as a free being who is not intrinsically mischief or corrupted but he is one who bind himself to the society by overlooking his mere freedom and ceding some of his authorities to the society and government. Then, Rousseau tried to harmonize between the individual and social liberty, as he argued that forgoing of the individual liberty is forgoing of the humanity and human rights. The human’s liberty is based on the obeying the superior moral norms and laws alongside with respecting his own and the others’ rights. Consequently, the morality is necessary for the society in which the members respect to each other. Yet, there is no freedom without equality. Thus, the government ought to be egalitarian and, also, provide the most commonweal and liberty for its

Rousseau’s assumptions and beliefs of his era are society and the growth of social interdependence. He was from 1700, (1712-78) it was very different compared to our beliefs.

Rousseau thought that man was born weak and ignorant, but virtuous. It is only when man became sociable that they became wicked. (Cress, 80) Since civil society makes men corrupt, Rousseau advocated “general will”, more precisely the combined wills of each person, to decide public affairs. General will would become the sovereign and thus it would be impossible for its interests to conflict with the priorities of the citizens, since this would be doing harm to itself. Virtue came from the freedom of men to make decisions for the good of the

Rousseau, in his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality of Men, discusses the beginning and development of inequality of individuals. Rousseau seeks to discern whether the unequal treatment of men is dictated by natural laws or if it is a man made creation. When Rousseau analyzes humans in the state of nature, he claims we are all animalistic by nature. Humans in the state of nature are motivated by self-preservation much like animals and also pity. The difference between man and animals according to Rousseau is man’s perfectibility. Because man has very minimal needs in the state of nature, no concept of morality and limited interaction with other individuals, he is generally happy. Because in the state of nature man embodies the quality of perfectibility, he is able to adapt with his environment. As nature drives men to leave certain areas it forces them to learn new skills as they come in to contact with one another more often. As man connects with more and more individuals around him he becomes aware that he has more needs. As men begin to live in societies with more people they start comparing themselves to those around them and self-preservation and pity are no longer their main goals. Now, they have to do more work in order to be happy such as raise to greater heights then their fellow humans. Moral inequality is created as division of labor and property rights are invented. Owning property allows the rich to take advantage of the poor, leading to unstable relations

In May 1755, Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality was published. The Discourse challenged contemporary philosophers in regards to the nature of man, and the fundamental principles of inequality. He highlighted that the inequality in current society developed due to the increase amour-propre has had on individuals. Examining amour-propre shows that it is fundamentally much more complex than simply being misconstrued as vanity; it could be described as a range of things such as pride, aggrandizement and prestige within society. It has

Similar to Locke, Rousseau, in his Discourse on Inequality, argues that we must first examine the natural state of man before understanding laws and society. He claims that, by nature, we are compassionate creatures. Rousseau believes that society is undeniably corrupt; he suggests that, to understand the true nature of man, we must rid ourselves of this corruption. Rousseau claims that people living in society are not free. He suggests the civilized world is unauthentic and that we are preoccupied by unattainable desires—that is, to possess everything and be the best. Rousseau introduces the idea of “amour propre” as a way by which man is untrue to himself and to others. He wants to control and dominate his fellow citizens and, by consequence, is enslaved by these desires. Virtues and vices are established with the development of society; the pride which is introduced through

His first major philosophical work was, A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts. In this work, Rousseau argues that the progression of the sciences and arts has caused the corruption of virtue and morality (James). This later lead to Rousseau writing, The Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. The central claim of the work is that human beings are basically good by nature, but were corrupted by the complex historical events that resulted in present day civil society (James). He said that “Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains” (Wilberson).

To begin, inequality remains an injustice in which society strives to avoid because it often addresses the definitive distinction between the wealthy, and impoverished, oppressing those who are slaves to the rich. Rousseau indicates the inequalities of society when he states, “...Labour became necessary; and boundless forests became smiling fields, which it was found necessary to water with human sweat; and in which slavery and misery were soon seen to sprout out and grow with the fruits of the earth” (Rousseau [1761] 2004). Thus, Rousseau indicates how slavery became essential to human life, and that without the existence of slavery a civil society would cease to exist. A proper-functioning society only exists if there is slavery, and those

Rousseau explains that two kinds of inequalities among humans exist: natural and moral inequality. Natural inequality is a physical difference. In Discourses on the Origin and Foundations of Inequalities among Men, Rousseau directly defines it as, “one I call natural or physical, because it is established by nature and consists in the difference of age, health, bodily strength, and qualities of mind or soul” (Rousseau p. 293). Rousseau argues that there is no point in asking what causes natural inequality or whether there is a connection between natural and moral inequality. However, in the Rousseauian state of nature, these differences simply exists.

From the budget that the structure and the figure of the man have always been the same, Rousseau looks primitive man as a being dedicated to life wandering and wild. Morally the wild man is distinguished of the animal by being free and perfectible, allowing you to not blindly follow their instinct, but determined in the sense that it wants to. In this state the man lives alone, outside the society; his passions are limited to the satisfaction of the natural desires, sentimental and imaginary superstructures clean.

Within the “Discourse on the Origins and Foundations of Inequality”, Jean-Jacques Rousseau regards the moral element of love as “an artificial sentiment born of the usage of society” (Rousseau 135). This definition pinpoints my interpretation of Rousseau’s understanding of love as a product of civilization rather than the state of nature. However, Rousseau saw that the “savage” was a product of exclusion. The exclusion of the savage is important because for Rousseau the savage represented the perfections of the mankind within nature. For Rousseau, The savage was a source of opposition to the enlightened. He asserted that “nothing, would have been so miserable as a savage man dazzled by enlightenment, tormented by passions, and reasoning about

     Man has no reason or conscience when in contact with others. Possessions begin to be claimed, but the inequality of skill lead to inequality of fortunes. The idea of claiming possessions excites men’s passions, which provoke conflict and leads to war. Rousseau believes men are not perfect in their original state, but have the ability to live in a more perfect society with guidance of

The purpose which Rousseau ostensibly gives his social contract is to free man from the illegitimate chains to which existing governments have shackled him. If this is his aim, then it follows that he should be most concerned with the preservation of freedom in political society, initially so that savage man might be lured out of nature and into society in the first place, and afterwards so that Rousseau’s framework for this society will prevent the present tyranny from reasserting itself. Indeed, in his definition of purpose for man’s initial union into society, he claims that, despite his membership in an association to which he must necessarily have some sort of obligation if the

health, bodily strength, and the qualities of the mind or of the soul” (16). Thus, it is evaluated that the notion of natural inequality steps towards the creation of differences. Within civilized society, people attempt to achieve to be the finest of the finest. For example, I would express that if a baby is born with a missing arm, that baby will be discriminated against because that baby does not appear like the rest of the civil society. Alternativity, if a baby is born with a mental illness, it will likewise be othered in civil society due to competition. To raise an objection, it is the course of nature then why does it consider as inequality. This is because civil society has created to notion to rise to perfection. The second reason that Rousseau argued is called, “moral or political inequality, because it depends on a kind of convention, and is established, or at least authorized by the consent of men” (16). For example, I would express that the consequences of a baby being born and raised in a poor family. The family of the poor will be pressured since they are not able to fit in with the rest of the civil society that is wealthy. Hence, political inequality is criticized because it can outline differences of class. The classification of individuals as rich or poor is an ill of civil society. This is because it created individual categorization which created the notion of us versus them. Both political and natural inequities imply that theses inequality is what