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Silent sovereignty : the ambivalent position of the people in J,-J, Rousseau social contract

• Βανδώρος, Σωτήρης

Rousseau’s Social Contract is considered as one of the most important sources laying the foundations of the notion of popular sovereignty. It is claimed that this view is justified, but one-sided. The argument is that Rousseau had an ambivalent stance towards the people with the result of constructing two contradictory views. According to the first, which is Social Contract’s dominant interpretation, the people is almost omnipotent and, in any case, it is not bound but from its own decisions and actions. However, according to the second, the people has much less actual power and is subject to a series of important limitations. The article reconstructs these two views, compares them, detects the tensions and antinomies that are produced and suggests an interpretation of their coexistence.

• Political Science
• Sociology

• Πολιτική επιστήμη
• Political sociology
• Φιλοσοφία

Ο Σωτήρης Βανδώρος είναι διδάκτορας Πολιτικής Θεωρίας