Together with Plato s Republic, Jean-Jacques Rousseau s Social Contract is regarded as one of the most original examples of utopian political engineering in the history of ideas. Similar to the Republic, Rousseau s masterwork is better known today for its author s idiosyncratic view of political justice than its lessons on lawmaking or governance in any concrete sense. Challenging this common view, Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People examines the Genevan s contributions as a legislator and builder of institutions, relating his major ideas to issues and debates in twenty-first century political science. Ethan Putterman explores how Rousseau s just state would actually operate, investigating how laws would be drafted, ratified and executed, arguing that the theory of the Social Contract is more pragmatic and populist than many scholars assume today.
Author(s): Ethan Putterman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 200
Contents
Acknowledgments
A note on the text
Abbreviations
Introduction: The celestial voice
Rousseau’s concept of law
Agenda-setting and majority rule
Democracy and vote rigging
Popular sovereignty and the republican fear of large assemblies
Enforcing the laws in Poland and Corsica
Judging the laws/when legislation fails
Conclusion: Law and liberty
Select bibliography
Name index
Subject index
