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Book 3, Chapter 6
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Social Contract, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Human Freedom and Society
Sovereignty, Citizenship, and Direct Democracy
Government and the Separation of Powers
National Longevity and Moral Virtue
Summary
Analysis
Rousseau clarifies that “no government of a simple form exists” because there is always hierarchy within any government: “sometimes the many submit to the few, and sometimes the few submit to the many.” Sometimes, too, a government can have equal but interdependent houses. So which is better, Rousseau asks, a mixed or simple government? While a simple one is better in theory, mixing the government is a way to more carefully fine-tune its power—for instance, by dividing a government that is too strong or adding new commissions to help strengthen it when it is too weak.
Rousseau clarifies that, although he divided government into three different types (democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy), not only do these differences lie on a spectrum, but there are also always multiple layers of hierarchy in any government. By adding layers of hierarchy to the government and adjusting the number of magistrates working at each level, then, the sovereign can ensure that government fulfills its two important functions: holding the citizens to their word and balancing power.
Themes
