Rousseau, law, and the sovereignty of the people
By: Ethan Putterman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780521765381
Description: "Together with Plato's Republic, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Social Contact is regarded as one of the most original examples of Utopian political engineering in the history of ideas. Similar to the Republic, Rousseau's Social Contract is better known today for its author's idiosyncratic view of political justice than its lessons on law-making or governance in any concrete sense. Challenging this common view, Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People examines the Genevan's contribution as a constitutionalist and builder of institutions, relating his major ideas to issues and debates in twenty-first century political science. Ethan Putterman explores how Rousseau's just state would actually operate, investigating how laws would be drafted, ratified and executed, arguing that the theory of the Social Contract is more pragmatic and populist than many scholars assume today"--Provided by publisher.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction: the celestial voice; 1. Rousseau's concept of law; 2. Agenda-setting and majority rule; 3. Democracy and vote rigging; 4. Popular sovereignty and the republican fear of large assemblies; 5. Enforcing the laws in Poland and Corsica; 6. Judging the laws/when legislation fails; Conclusion: law and liberty; Selected bibliography; Index.