ul. He described the people in this primitive state as living free, healthy, honest and happy lives, and felt that man was timid, and would always avoid conflict, rather than seek it out. Building from this favorable description of the state of nature, why would man want to enter into a social contract of any kind? If Rousseau was so fond of the state of nature, why would he be advocating any form of social organization? The answer is two fold. Firstly, Rousseau recognized that 18th century Europe was indeed very civilized, and that it would be impossible for man to shake off these chains and return to a state of nature. Secondly, Rousseau felt man in a state of nature was really quite ignorant and undeveloped. He says in the Social Contract that they were rather simple, shy, and innocent in the state of nature. Therefore for personal growth and self-actualization, man must enter into a society with his fellow man. "We begin properly to become men," Rousseau said, "only after we have become citizens.” From here, Rousseau embarks on his mission, envisioning a society which would embody all of the freedoms man had in the state of nature yet one which would allow him to grow intellectually. In setting out his Social Contract, Rousseau’s purpose is clear: "Find a form of association that defends and protects the person and goods of each associate with all the common force, and by means of which each one, uniting with all, nevertheless obeys only himself and remains as free as before.” Rousseau wanted the best of both worlds, a combination of the freedoms evident in the state of nature, and the intellectual surroundings of civilized society. Utilizing the principle that the whole would be stronger then the sum of the collective parts, Rousseau laid out a society in which all the individuals would give up their individual powers in return for a new kind of equality and a new kind of power. By this the...
