Rousseau and Mill: Social Contract, Education, and Utilitarianism
Rousseau: Principles and Tensions
His principles and tastes walked several paths; his life was a constant tension between the ideal and the real. His life and work were an anticipation of Romanticism, followed by the Enlightenment.
Man’s Nature and Historic Home
Rousseau (like Hobbes) speaks of a natural state of man, but in radical opposition to Hobbes. Imagine a man being good and naturally happy. The primitive man described by Rousseau is as innocent and generous as a child; in him, there is no separation between what he is and what he appears to be, between what he is and what he thinks. But Rousseau’s contemporary man, historic man, has lost his original goodness; his innocence has become degeneration, and his sincerity has become hypocrisy. Man is a vile, selfish, depraved, and hateful historical being. But this historic man cannot publicly display his degeneration: he must conceal his vileness, his selfishness, and his passions. Behavior illustrates this effect, which includes courtesy, the art of speaking well, the technique of appearance, that is, everything that involves science and the arts. Fears, hatred, and betrayal are continually hidden under this “mask” that we call education. Thus, the mask is doubly odious, as it avoids recognizing the degradation and, in this way, precludes the regeneration of man. Rousseau explains that man had survived for that reason, and he fabricated weapons and left the natural state. From here, there is a surplus of property, domination, and social inequality.
The Social Contract
Rousseau was conscious that it was a futile dream to return to natural innocence and goodness, but he thought there was a possibility of moral regeneration of man, which is in the contract or social contract. The contract harmonizes the individual and society, preserving the legitimate social and political freedom. Once the state of nature is lost, man promotes his survival by forming associations to protect himself and his freedom. Men associate to allow the general will. The essential thing in each social human being is that he puts his person and all his power under the leadership of the general will and, in return, each member of society is welcomed as part of the indivisible whole. The pact represents the universal recognition of what is above the particular. After the pact, obeying and submitting to the law passed by the general will can be free. In this way, Rousseau makes a positive assessment of the civil pact and its laws, the result of the general will. If historic man was a depraved and despicable being, civil man can recover, and happiness and freedom can be part of his regeneration.
- Natural State: Natural liberty, limited by the strength of each man / Right to possession of all that he wants and can achieve / Unity of being and desire.
- Civil State: Civil liberty, limited by the general will / Right to the property of what he has / Moral Freedom: obedience to the law prescribed by himself as a sovereign member.
Rousseau also distinguishes between the general will and the “will of all.” The general will has a universal subject, the sovereign people, and its object is the common good. But the will of all is simply a sum of individual wills. Citizens must be well-informed, and partial societies must be deleted within the State, as the majority vote represents the general will (direct democracy, not representative).
Education Theory
Rousseau dreamed of a new education leading to the natural development of children. He criticizes education based only on books, artificial and repetitive education. He says the child must depend on himself, learn to think in direct contact with things and with nature. Education aims to become a free man and should favor the development of intuition and feeling. Rousseau thinks morality is based on natural feelings, such as love for oneself and love for others, feelings that education must promote. In this way, the real citizen will have his roots in the goodness of human nature. Rousseau’s book Emile is a model of a utopian ideal that aims to modify the conditions of a boy and a girl’s education.
Utilitarian Liberalism: Stuart Mill
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is a school of thought that promotes the positivist morality of society through scientific approaches.
Utilitarian Approach
Utilitarians understand that to successfully renew social life, it is necessary to take into account what political economy says. This takes into account the economic liberalism of Adam Smith, as well as the reviews of Thomas R. Malthus and David Ricardo. The changes of the Industrial Revolution were of concern to utilitarians, who saw increasing social imbalances. They then express that legislators should always opt for those rules that can make as many people as possible happy. This rule addresses the moral action of legislators and is available to any human action. Utility, or the principle of maximum happiness, is the criterion that governs our behavior; those actions that preferentially promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people should be useful. This principle is considered in hedonistic terms, that is, as obtaining pleasure. Utilitarianism defends a hedonistic society.
Happiness and pleasure are terms that utilitarians tend to use as synonyms. In this way, pleasure is presented as what is good and desirable, while pain will be its opposite. The assertion that pleasure is a desirable thing is considered by utilitarians to need no theoretical rationale, but should be taken as a fact amply confirmed by experience.