Critical Analysis of the Foundations of Inequality in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Political Philosophy (with Emphasis on the Second Discourse)

Subject Areas : Political and International Researches Quarterly

saeed eslamee ¹ , Amirmasoud Tadayon ² , fatemeh soleymani pourlak ³ , Amin Moezi Dailami ⁴

1 - Political science department Azad Islamic University Chalous Branch
2 - PhD student specialized in political thought
3 - Assistant professor and faculty member of the political science department of Chalous Islamic Azad University
4 - Department of Political Science, Azad University, Chalous branch

Received: 2023-08-09 Accepted : 2023-12-20 Published : 2024-02-06

Keywords: Inequality, ownership, Rousseau, natural man, Contract and Freedom,

Abstract :

One of the most significant political philosophers who devoted his works to the problem of inequality is the French Rousseau. In his famous article "A Discourse on Inequality", he claims that the first historical cause of inequality is private property. Therefore, this research with the theoretical framework of radical democracy, Moff, tried to answer the question of what theoretical basis is based on Russober's hypothesis. What is Rousseau's solution to get out of the crisis of inequality? The result of this research shows that Rousseau's assumption is in line with the criticism of the teachings of the Catholic Church, Locke, especially in the theoretical criticism of Hobbes in Leviathan. There are three main axes: criticism of the natural state/natural law, strong opposition and weak and the nature of sovereignty is stable, and Rousseau's solution to the crisis of contract relies on freedom, which will lead to the unity of contract.