Rousseaus Concept of Democracy Essay - 995 Words

Rousseau describes democracy as a form of government that â€Å"has never existed and never will† ; yet twenty-six countries in the world are considered to be full democracies. How can this be possible? Rousseau’s concept of democracy supports the most fundamental and basic premise of democracy – one in which all citizens directly participate. While his idea of democracy cannot be considered an effective indictment of what passes for democracy today, it is not Rousseau’s account which is flawed but that in modern society is would be practically impossible to achieve this idea of democracy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau defines democracy as a government in which â€Å"the sovereign entrust the government to the entire people†¦so that there are more†¦show more content†¦A state with â€Å"simplicity of mores† is a state in which its citizens are not greedy or ambitions. Finally, a state must have equality and little luxury because they both co rrupt the citizens. Even if a state were to have these basic premises in place, there must be institutions that allow for the prosperity of a democratic government. The democratic government, according to Rousseau consists of a legislative power and an executive power. While the legislative power belongs solely to the people (for they are the ones responsible for making the law), the executive power belongs solely to the Sovereignty. Along with this, Rousseau describes four types of law present in a democracy: political, civil, criminal and mores. These laws are in place to regulate relationships. Political laws regulate the relationship between the sovereign and the state, civil laws are for the relationship between the subjects, the relationship between man and law is regulated by criminal law and finally, and according to Rousseau, most importantly are mores laws which â€Å"preserves a people in the spirit of its institutions† and thus all other laws depend on this one. Democracy today is different from what Rousseau describes. Even in Norway, which ranked as the most democratic country in 2010, a constitutional democracy still exists. SocietiesShow MoreRelatedRousseau Vs Democracy853 Words   |  4 PagesDemocracy, More Like DemoCRAZY An issue with the concept and philosophy of democracy is that idea in which is theorized to uphold can sometimes contradict themselves. Democracy in itself cannot be definitely defined, but instead is left up to interpretation by many philosophers and theorists, all of whom have wildly varying convictions of how an actual democracy should function. The ideals in which one person might claim to the be fundamental basics of their version of a democracy could also theRead MoreRousseau s Beliefs On The Form Of Governments Essay1746 Words   |  7 Pagessovereign. In his writings from the social contract Rousseau outlines what the sort of government should be. 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