Respond to the prompt below. There is no right or wrong way to approach this essay topic, and you have substantial freedom to develop your own specific thesis and interpretive framework. One way to approach developing your own argument is to pick two or three specific points that Rousseau introduces, and develop your response from them. Alternatively, you may choose to focus your paper on the critiques of Rousseau advanced by other thinkers (e.g. Burke), and develop your response from these critiques. Regardless of how you choose to develop your response, you should write a well-organized essay developed from a cohesive thesis statement. Be sure to cite directly relevant thinkers from our course as appropriate to build your discussion.
Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains: This famous and provocative sentence from Rousseaus Social Contract (in Wootton (ed), 2008, 427) summarizes Rousseaus critique of contemporary government. Think about the world of politics in 2021. Is Rousseau correct to observe that modern soulless man believes in nothing other than his own narrow self-interest and love of profit (Fornieri, 2009, 329)? Your essay in response to this broad question should do at least the following:
Offer a thesis statement that clearly articulates your position on Rousseaus work, and elaborates that position clearly, comprehensively, and with direct citation of relevant thinkers throughout the essay.
Identifies and summarizes the key features of Rousseaus work and the work of other relevant thinkers that contributes to the position you take. Juxtaposing Rousseau’s approach against that of Locke’s could be one way to approach this section, as could synthesizing elements of Montesquieu, Hume, and The Federalist.
In addition to considering Rousseau’s work, your paper must directly consider the arguments advanced by at least one of the following thinkers: Burke, Robespierre, Constant.
Offers an evaluation of Rousseaus political philosophy and normative prescriptions in the context of contemporary (e.g. last 2 to 3 years) politics in the US or within a country of your choice. This evaluation must be supported with reference to at least one authoritative source documenting contemporary politics.
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