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Critical Thinking
Joseph Wood

Aspects of Rousseau's Political Thought

Kateb begins this article with the statement that there is common agreement that the center of Rousseau's political thought is the idea of the general will. Almost everyone also acknowledges that they are somewhat confused as to the meaning of this general will, and that some of the confusion can be blamed on Rousseau's himself. This confusion is apparently eliminated, according to the author, once we see that the "aim of the general will is justice." (1) This concept of justice removes any doubt regarding if Rousseau was writing from the position favoring collectivism, despotism, totalitarians, or individualism. Two other concepts come into play in Rousseau's political thought, the concept of moral autonomy, and the concept of fair play.
According to Kateb, Rousseau was writing about the idea of distributive justice as "giving every man his due," or the condition where the rights of every......

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Approximate Word Count: 2593
Approximate Pages: 11 (250 words per double-spaced page)