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Single Idea 19789

[filed under theme 24. Political Theory / A. Basis of a State / 3. Natural Values / b. Natural equality ]

Full Idea

It is obviously contrary to the law of nature, however it is defined, for a child to command an old man, for an imbecile to lead a wise man, and for a handful of people to gorge themselves on superfluities while the starving multitude lack necessities.

Gist of Idea

It is against nature for children to rule old men, fools to rule the wise, and the rich to hog resources

Source

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Discourse on the Origin of Inequality [1754], Part II)

Book Ref

Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Basic Political Writings', ed/tr. Cress,Donald A. [Hackett 1987], p.81

A Reaction

I wonder if gregarious animals ever starve to death during a time of plenty, because of social exclusion? I bet this idea was quoted widely in 1780s Paris. The massive inequality is not just nasty, but 'contrary to the law of nature'.

The 43 ideas from 'Discourse on the Origin of Inequality'

19749 In a direct democracy, only the leaders should be able to propose new laws [Rousseau]
19747 Revolutionaries usually confuse liberty with total freedom, and end up with heavier chains [Rousseau]
19748 Plebiscites are bad, because they exclude the leaders from crucial decisions [Rousseau]
19746 Like rich food, liberty can ruin people who are too weak to cope with it [Rousseau]
19775 People must be made dependent before they can be enslaved [Rousseau]
19774 A savage can steal fruit or a home, but there is no means of achieving obedience [Rousseau]
19772 In a state of nature people are much more equal; it is society which increases inequalities [Rousseau]
19767 Reason leads to prudent selfishness, which overrules natural compassion [Rousseau]
19757 No one would bother to reason, and try to know things, without a desire for enjoyment [Rousseau]
19760 General ideas are purely intellectual; imagining them is immediately particular [Rousseau]
19759 Only words can introduce general ideas into the mind [Rousseau]
19758 Language may aid thinking, but powerful thought was needed to produce language [Rousseau]
19773 Without love, what use is beauty? [Rousseau]
19769 Rational morality is OK for brainy people, but ordinary life can't rely on that [Rousseau]
19768 The better Golden Rule is 'do good for yourself without harming others' [Rousseau]
19766 The fact that we weep (e.g. in theatres) shows that we are naturally compassionate [Rousseau]
19756 Humans are less distinguished from other animals by understanding, than by being free agents [Rousseau]
19755 Most human ills are self-inflicted; the simple, solitary, regular natural life is good [Rousseau]
19762 Is language a pre-requisite for society, or might it emerge afterwards? [Rousseau]
19763 I doubt whether a savage person ever complains of life, or considers suicide [Rousseau]
19765 Savages avoid evil because they are calm, and never think of it (not because they know goodness) [Rousseau]
19771 Savage men quietly pursue desires, without the havoc of modern frenzied imagination [Rousseau]
19770 Primitive people simply redressed the evil caused by violence, without thought of punishing [Rousseau]
19761 Men started with too few particular names, but later had too few natural kind names [Rousseau]
19776 Small uninterrupted causes can have big effects [Rousseau]
19783 A state of war remains after a conquest, if the losers don't accept the winners [Rousseau]
19778 Leisure led to envy, inequality, vice and revenge, which we now see in savages [Rousseau]
19779 Primitive man was very gentle [Rousseau]
19789 It is against nature for children to rule old men, fools to rule the wise, and the rich to hog resources [Rousseau]
19787 People accept the right to be commanded, because they themselves wish to command [Rousseau]
19780 We seem to have made individual progress since savagery, but actually the species has decayed [Rousseau]
19784 Enslaved peoples often boast of their condition, calling it a state of 'peace' [Rousseau]
19785 If the child of a slave woman is born a slave, then a man is not born a man [Rousseau]
19786 Three stages of the state produce inequalities of wealth, power, and enslavement [Rousseau]
19788 The pleasure of wealth and power is largely seeing others deprived of them [Rousseau]
19777 Persuading other people that some land was 'owned' was the beginning of society [Rousseau]
19782 What else could property arise from, but the labour people add to it? [Rousseau]
19781 Land cultivation led to a general right of ownership, administered justly [Rousseau]
19754 If we have a natural right to property, what exactly does 'belonging to' mean? [Rousseau]
19750 Writers just propose natural law as the likely useful agreements among people [Rousseau]
19752 If we should not mistreat humans, it is mainly because of sentience, not rationality [Rousseau]
19751 Our two starting principles are concern for self-interest, and compassion for others [Rousseau]
19753 Both men and animals are sentient, which should give the latter the right not to be mistreated [Rousseau]