Rousseau's Ideas Nikita Warren Southern New Hampshire 916162

Rousseaus Ideasnikita Warrensouthern New Hampshire Universitymarch 26

Rousseau’s Ideas Nikita Warren Southern New Hampshire University March Rousseau’s Ideas The necessity of freedom Freedom is a problem of political philosophy Freedom is needed for two reasons: “Natural man is physically free because he is not constrained by a repressive state apparatus or dominated by his fellow men” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, n.d). “Natural man is psychologically and spiritually free because he is not enslaved to any of the artificial needs that characterize modern society” (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, n.d). Modern society is different from the previous uncorrupted society where man lived favorably with the state of nature despite having the freedom and liberty to do what they wished. Rousseau was concerned with the nature of freedom. In his general argument, man was previously living in harmony with nature because he had not become a slave to his own needs.

As the needs of man evolved, so did his means of interaction with nature, and in this case, man used his freedom to do himself good and do good to others. However, modern society is made up of men who have become slaves to their own needs. Man is therefore responsible for the present problems of exploitation, domination, self-esteem issues, and depression. Rousseau emphasizes that true freedom was lost as humans began prioritizing artificial needs over natural existence.

The social contract

According to Rousseau, a good government must prioritize the freedom of its citizens because it is the most fundamental objective. Governments must affirm the freedom of their citizens with specific restrictions inherent to complex, modern, and civil society. Provided law and property exist, man can never be absolutely free. With the deployment of certain principles, governments can be able to grant their citizens some form of freedom that approaches the freedom enjoyed in the state of nature.

Rousseau invoked the concept of social contract, asserting that government must operate in accordance with the freedom needs of society. While this ideal is appealing, it is often impractical. Therefore, the naturally inherent sense of freedom of man has to be regulated by laws. Rousseau admits that man is not born free but is made free through institutions that seek to protect human rights. The government, therefore, must use institutions to restrict human freedom via laws, which may be non-democratic, as not all forms of governance are equally good for all people.

Email and social media surveillance and freedom

The development of emails and social media has been driven by cooperation and division of labor in modern society, leading to increased needs—many of which are non-essential, such as entertainment, luxury goods, and social connections. While initially pleasurable, these needs can become compulsive, causing individuals to become slaves to their desires. Rousseau viewed unnaturalness and the pursuit of superficial needs as sources of moral inequalities and social imbalance.

Surveillance of social media and email communication by governments reflects a tension between individual freedom and security. Rousseau criticized such intrusion as an infringement on sovereign will, arguing that government interference into personal communications compromises the fundamental freedom of individuals. Nevertheless, modern governments justify surveillance as necessary measures to address misuse of freedoms, prevent crime, and ensure societal stability, even at the expense of personal privacy.

References

• Bernal, P. (2016). Data gathering, surveillance and human rights: recasting the debate. Journal of Cyber Policy.
• Dammann, G. (2012, July 11). For Rousseau, man is born free, but kept free only by compassion. The Guardian.
• Dent, M. S. (2006). Rousseau's Theory of Freedom. Continuum.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau. (n.d.). State of Nature. SparkNotes.
• Lloyd, S. A., & Sreedhar, S. (2018). Hobbes's Moral and Political Philosophy. Retrieved from https://example.com
• Korte, G. (2016). 14 Mass Shootings, 14 Speeches: How Obama Has Responded. USA Today.
• Machiavelli, N. (2010). The Prince. (Original publication date not identified).
• Additional scholarly articles on Rousseau’s political philosophy and modern surveillance practices.