The Social Contract

Whether or not the social contract is preserved or dissolved, the general will lives on, unable to be destroyed. It may, however, be subordinated to corrupt individual wills, at which point it may go mute. At these moments, which invariably come at the eve of a state’s destruction, politicians will claim to represent “the public good,” even though they are driven by private motives.

The general will is best expressed when those voting in assembly are unanimous or nearly so. This indicates a healthy state. By contrast, the state is in decline when assemblies are plagued by dissent and tumult. One exception is when citizens, gripped by flattery and fear, vote unanimously to elevate a tyrant.

The social contract itself requires unanimity, though opposition when that contract is forged does not negate the contract; it simply prevents opponents from joining in it, leaving them “foreigners among citizens.” Later, if a law passes by a mere simple majority, the law’s opponents remain bound by the social contract to adhere to the law, as it is evidently the general will, whether the opponent realizes it or not.