POLC71H3 Lecture : March 29 Lecture - Rousseau (Sovereign and Government)
Document Summary
Example of a spartan mother 5 sons in battle, sees messenger and asks if they were victorious. Man tells her that her 5 sons are dead but she gets mad and says that wasn"t her question. He says yes they won and she thanks the gods: this is an example of a true citizen first question is about preservation of the common good. Example 2: pedaretes goes to spartan council and wants to lead sparta. State/sovereign: the same thing but viewed from two different angles they both mean all of the people together. The sovereign is when people are acting as legislators, making decisions. Prince/government: government is how we think of it now rousseau means the government is only the executive branch a smaller body of the people who administer the rules decided by the sovereign. They are not legislators, have no independent authority, only of the people who choose them: carry out tasks of the country.
