Citizenship and the Public Interest in the Modern State: Rousseau's Social Contract as a Model

Abstract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s social contract represents one of the philosophical and legal sources for the idea and practice of citizenship in modern democratic and civil societies, due to the principles and foundations that the contract contains for building modern cultural communities and political institutions, especially the state, considering the latter as a pillar and center of political organizations.

The Rousseauian social contract (named after the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau) outlined a model of citizenship by laying out philosophical principles and theories that establish the theory of government, the concept of public and private freedoms, the concept of sovereignty, and the principle of common interest, which counters conflicting partial interests. The general will is the project sought by Rousseau, through which he sheds light on establishing the foundation for building the modern state, which tends to achieve the common good and the good of all, in contrast to the inclinations, passions, and selfishness that are the product of partial will.

The social contract represents a tool for achieving the common good, as it is based on the principle of consultation, which is founded on the general will (la volonté générale) as opposed to the particular will (la volonté particulière). The latter is a product of the deception arising from partisan loyalties. The modern democratic civil state is a product of consultation, which establishes the general will. Consultation, as both a moral and procedural principle, is always a valid approach, reflecting the soundness and strength of the general will, which does not err in directing its overall objective of achieving the common good. However, if the general will is subject to partisan loyalties, it becomes a general will for each of those loyalties only, and it transforms into a private will for the state, thus deceiving the people.

The social contract produces a sovereignty embodied in a single, comprehensive, and universal legal entity—the state. The modern democratic state is not composed of fragmented, isolated individuals. The state's legal entity dissolves individuals within itself, subjecting them to its institutions. These institutions are founded and, in turn, are subject to the principle of the social contract, through which they are established, elected, and public laws are enacted. Citizenship is framed by these laws.

Thus, the role of the social contract—in its Rousseauian model—lies in establishing the rules of citizenship based on identifying and prioritizing the common public interest in the modern state, in contrast to private and individual interests.

Keywords: Citizenship, social contract, public interest, institutions, modern state, public will.