The Social Contract

Rousseau begins this section by attempting to define the word “government” and to explain how it is administered through executive power.

Every action has a moral component and a physical component. The moral component determines what action should be taken, while the physical component carries it out. In a state, the moral component, or “will,” is represented by the legislature while the physical component, or “strength,” is represented by the executive, which Rousseau generally refers to as “the government.”

Because the government executes and applies laws to acts or individuals, it must be separate from the sovereign or “the law,” which represents the general will and is therefore expressed in general terms. From this, Rousseau reaches a definition for government: “An intermediate body set up between the subjects and the Sovereign, to secure their mutual correspondence, charged with the execution of the laws and the maintenance of liberty, both civil and political” (43).

The members of this body may be referred to as kings, magistrates, governors, or any number of other terms, but for simplicity’s sake Rousseau will refer to these individuals collectively as “princes.” Crucially, there is no