Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Swiss-born French philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century who, literally, wrote the book on the Social Contract. He is notable for his influential theory of government and romantic liberalism.
Marie Antoinette never said “let them eat cake”. The idea of royalty suggesting peasants eat cake is an old myth that can be traced to Rousseau’s Confessions, a Spanish Princess, and even a Chinese emperor.
Politics can be treated as a science (political science), but it must always seek data that can be confirmed by our senses (empirical evidence).
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) can be read as a political metaphor where Dr. Frankenstein and his monster represent the philosophies and attitudes of the liberal revolutionaries, specifically those of the French Revolution and ensuing “Reign of Terror.”
We present an essay on the purpose of the laws and government to better understand how liberty, rights, equality, and justice are inseparable in nature and in civil society.
Many (including Rousseau) consider Machiavelli’s The Prince to be satire, expressing a preference for a free republic over a hereditary principality.
Mary Wollstonecraft can be considered “the first modern feminist” or “the mother of feminism” due to her advocating women’s rights in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792).
Classical liberalism is the ideology of liberties, rights, individualism, reason, and tolerance that comes in a political and economic form.
“Civil Religion” is the civic “religion” of a nation. It doesn’t describe the theological religion of a nation, but rather a quasi-religious shared identity built around national symbolism and customs.
We often attribute the origin of the state of nature argument to Hobbes, but it can be traced to thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and the Sophists in the 300s BC, and is then mused on by other early philosophers.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s concept of the General Will roughly means “that which is in the best interest of the people” or “the public good”, and not just popular consensus.
Social Contract Theory is the theory of why people form governments based on how people lived in a State of Nature before government.
We explain liberalism and conservatism, including the different social and classical types of liberalism and conservatism.
Classical liberalism arose in opposition to state-imposed religion and aristocracy in the 1600 – 1700’s during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and America.
Special interests describe interests that are not purely public interests. Factions (special interest groups) are groups formed around shared interests (special interests).
The Philosophy of Governments It can be very attractive to have a list of government types, but yet that list may teach a person very little. Here instead is a look at the philosophy behind the government types that create that list. For a simpler list and look, see our page on “the types of . . . read more
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