The Social Contract and Second Treatise of Government: A Comparative Analysis

Running head: PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PHILOSOPHY
Introduction
The Social Contract has been one of the most intriguing and complicated books on
deciding the nature and power of the government in several aspects. Locke has viewed his
opinion that a state will not have any skills except that of the private persons have in the state.
They will later transfer that power in the country. Rousseau has confronted that view in several
ways as well (Rousseau 1967). However, this essay will look to provide insight into the matter of
power of the state and the points that Locke have presented to establish his viewpoint as well.
The natural liberty in the state power has been a very integrating issue in this matter as well.
Natural liberty and power of the state
In the quest to be at the peak point of the force, Rousseau has described the fact in the
best ways indeed. In his book, Rousseau has described these facts in quite the best ideas.
However, some of the points related by Rousseau can be noted as wrong as well. Since the
democratic government can sometimes be the difficult ones, they might go on to make some
laws that would demean the minority communities in several ways (Rousseau 1967).
Rousseau has argued several times that it would be highly significant to look at human
beings in various ways regarding the influence of society. If human beings did not feel any
influence on their lives by society, their lives would be different. Human beings are the creatures
just what the society makes them. This is why they would have to be guided by the norms and
ethics of the community. This is where the argument comes from Rousseau that human beings
must be different people when society did not exist. According to Rousseau, this might have
been during the old stage as well. In the Book The Social Contract, Rousseau has discussed these
issues in a more ambivalent manner indeed.

2PHILOSOPHY
He has been very much vocal regarding the freedom in society or natural liberty. He has
spoken in this matter that human beings are entirely free to do according to their wishes. Apart
from that the desires and impulses of human beings are not at all controlled by the reasons.
Human beings can enjoy the proper physical freedom, but there will always be the lack for the
rationality and morality. Rousseau has been very much caring about the fact that the state of
nature would be much better than the slavery of the contemporary society.
Freedom or liberty
According to Rousseau, privilege or liberty has been a huge issue indeed. The activities
of the people will be completely free, and there would be no restraints indeed. This is why the
absolutist king or the government would not be accountable to the slaves or any other person just
because they possess the ultimate power indeed. Rousseau has always accounted for building up
a society where no people would harm their fellow citizens indeed (Locke 2001). The agreement
should be put into the practice so no human being would hurt others. The transfer of the power of
the state will depend upon the handover of the control by the people who possess this. The
human beings in society to have the possession of the property but they do not have the power to
use it. According to other critics, this is also a fundamental issue for the development of the idea
of the state of nature and the power of human beings.
A response of John Locke
The aspects of civil liberty have been one of the most important things to understand the
issues related to the social contract theory. Other than the opinion and theories of Rousseau, the