ke the laws and would obey them willingly. He felt that the ‘general will' was all that mattered, those who did not agree with the majority were forced to conform. Today Rousseau is hailed as a champion of democracy for his idea that political authority lies with the people. On the other hand dictators have also used his ideas about the ‘general will' to justify their causes. Rousseau has influenced political and social change for over two-hundred-years, and his ideas should encourage revolution for centuries.Political philosophers had a tremendous impact throughout the world, their ideas helped shape the governments we now see today. European political thinkers such as Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau have changed society in the past and will most likely continue to do so in the future....
