Extended Essays 2021

Rousseau objects Hobbes’ absolutism, arguing for a direct democracy where every member of

the community votes in order to express the general will and make laws. However, a limitation

of this is that he developed this ideal government for small scale city, and when applied to a

large nation (like America), issues can arise. Through his ‘civil state’ he asserts that those who

fail to abide by the rules will be “forced to be free”, contradicting Hobbes’ monarchy that can

give out severe punishment to those who do not abide by the laws of the city. With the lack of

power separation and the protection of “security, justice, liberty and property”, the quality of

decision making can decrease, which Plato’s ideal state advances. 31 The ruling by a highly

educated group of leaders succeeds this limitation of direct democracy, which can be vague

and lacking structure. As such, Plato’s aristocracy supe rsedes both monarchy and direct

democracy as the most just society can be said to come about from the leading by highly-

informed and experienced individuals that make the best decisions for the society.

Without having a group of highly-informed individuals to govern society and make leading

decisions, issues will inevitably arise as citizen’s impulses are pursued rather than considering

the common good for the city. Although monarchy is a solid form of government which

supersedes the impulsive decisions associated with democracy, the inheritably of the throne

questions the reliability of the leader in that they may not be best equipped to make just

decisions. While the harsh punishments may encourage citizens to abide by the law in a

monarchy, individual fr eedom is disregarded which is a sound and cogent aspect of Mill’s

democratic argument. Although the social contract in direct democracy allows for the

community to exercise their “general will” to make laws for the “public good”, the quality of

decisions t ends to decrease, which is prioritised within Plato’s just state.

31 Rousseau, J., 2004. The Social Contract . Harlow, England: Penguin Books.

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