more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
Like a well-formed man, there are limits to the size a state can have, so as not to be too large to be capable of being well governed, nor too small to be capable of preserving itself on its own.
Gist of Idea
A state must be big enough to preserve itself, but small enough to be governable
Source
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (The Social Contract (tr Cress) [1762], II.09)
Book Ref
Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Basic Political Writings', ed/tr. Cress,Donald A. [Hackett 1987], p.167
A Reaction
Geneva was his model, and it is close to the size of a Greek polis. Presumably even Scotland would be thought ungovernable, never mind the United States. Luxembourg might be his ideal nowadays. Thousands of them!
| 22581 | The size of a city is decided by the maximum self-sufficient community that can be surveyed [Aristotle] |
| 19993 | In small republics citizens identify with the public good, and abuses are fewer [Montesquieu] |
| 19992 | In a large republic there is too much wealth for individuals to manage it [Montesquieu] |
| 19814 | A state must be big enough to preserve itself, but small enough to be governable [Rousseau] |
| 19815 | Too much land is a struggle, producing defensive war; too little makes dependence, and offensive war [Rousseau] |
| 19822 | If the state enlarges, the creators of the general will become less individually powerful [Rousseau] |
| 19823 | If the population is larger, the government needs to be more powerful [Rousseau] |
| 22679 | Vast empires are bad for well-being and freedom, though they may promote glory [Tocqueville] |
| 22680 | People would be much happier and freer in small nations [Tocqueville] |
| 23156 | The economic and political advantages of great size seem to have no upper limit [Russell] |