Rousseau was a botanist as well as political philosopher, but his Social Contract (1762) isn’t about trees. It’s about how to break the chains forged by tyranny and establish a democratic political community or “contract” between citizens. I use the word democratic here a bit loosely. In fact, Rousseau doubted that true democracy could ever exist: “It’s against the natural order for the many to govern and the few to be governed.” A pure democracy, he added, is unfeasible; it would require the whole population to be in continuous meetings to administer the state. And if the people instead set up committees for the purpose, it would no longer be a democracy! More

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