Day 40 – Q 2.The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master, unless he transforms strength into right, and obedience into duty. Elucidate.

2. The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master, unless he transforms strength into right, and obedience into duty. Elucidate.  

सबसे मजबूत कभी भी इतना मजबूत नहीं होता है कि वह सदैव मालिक बन सके, जब तक कि वह शक्ति को अधिकार में न बदल दे, और आज्ञाकाकरीता को कर्तव्य में। स्पष्ट करें।

Introduction:

The above lines are written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his book “social contract“. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic and educational thought.

Body

• In the Social Contract Rousseau discusses the best way to run a state and uses philosophical arguments to argue his case. He also uses the ideas of force, right and freedom to support his argument. He feels we require a civil state, as opposed to living in the state of nature, as ‘it substitutes justice for instinct and gives his actions a moral quality’.
• He believed that it is not right that you should obey someone just because of force and that for the state to be run properly the power it has must be legitimate.
• He say’s ‘authority is legitimate if the person (or institution) possesses the right to command others’, in other words, authority cannot use naked force to command obedience.
• He also believed that ‘to be legitimate, the authority the state has over the people must come from the people themselves, and not from a single person such as the king.’ 
• To prove the point that might do not equal right, that is that ‘because you can force me to obey you, is it right that I should  obey you?’, Rousseau uses the example of ‘The strongest is never strong enough to be master all the time, unless he transforms force into right and obedience into duty….Force is a physical power; I fail to see what morality can result from its effects.’
• In other words, unless the authority is legitimate and the people feel obliged to obey, rather than forced to obey when the authority is absent, the people ‘will not necessarily obey’.
• Rousseau’s “social contract” discusses the corruptness of non-democratic form of government.
• 1780’s France was characterised by unjustly high taxes and wealthy monarchy because of which people faced serious economic difficulties. People were influenced by ideas of Rousseau and Voltaire, which finally led to dethroning of the king by Famous French Revolution.
• Arab spring: Modern times are no different. The wind of change swept Northern Africa and middle east countries like Tunisia, Libya, Syria etc., recently. Though the issues were not completely the same, living under a dictatorial regime is tantamount to the same abuse of power as the unequal distribution of wealth.

Conclusion

In recent times, there is unemployment, harsh rural poverty and rapidly rising prices. But, the rich are growing richer and richer. Democracy is being gnawed away to the point that the ruling hegemony and the rich should bear Rousseau’s words in mind and keep a sharp look over their shoulders lest another French revolution awaits.