Rousseau clearly proves here that the legislator cannot count either on force or persuasion. How does he solve this problem? By deception.

Frédéric Bastiat
Part 4 of 8
Pamphlets

After exposing how the propaganda function from a monopolistic education acts upon our souls, Frédéric Bastiat digs on some details from the writings of Fénelon, Rollin, Montesquieu et Rousseau in order to show how these men were riddled by ideas coming from Ancient History et how these ideas turned them into “constructors and undoers of society”.

The quote chosen today helps me to underline what is the issue with the will to organise society: free men not being made of this clay that needs to be kneaded but having a conscience and an action principle, it is absolutely necessary to convince them of the validity of an organisation, or to impose it upon them. Given the diversity of individuals within a society, it is impossible to convince them all, in particular if the extent of the organisation is not limited to the basic functions of the state. As a consequence, there are dictatorships and democracies all over the world, at the helm of which some impostor is ruling.

Other quotes from Baccalaureate and Socialism:
Part 1 of 8 – Part 2 of 8 – Part 3 of 8 – Part 5 of 8 – Part 6 of 8 – Part 7 of 8 – Part 8 of 8