beyond Rousseau's idea of freedom, which is dramatically different from what we tend to think of freedom being and not worth discussing here, is Rousseau's focus on political psychology.
Rousseau asks us how can democracy succeed when most social institutions (the family, the workplace, etc) that we participate in aren't democratic - but totalitarian. we know that interacting with systems frequently and over long periods of time modifies the way we think and the way we act. when we vote every couple of years (participate in democracy) but spend the vast majority of the time in our day to day lives participating in systems which are anti-democratic - which type of institution are we likely to reflect in our personal behavior? when confronted with choices in your life which behaviors are we likely to replicate - those which we practice symbolically every few years or those which we practice daily and which the sustenance of our life is dependent on?
we must ask the question "how can we truly value or meaningfully participate in democracy when everything we encounter reinforces authoritarian hierarchies and our place in them."
it is incumbent upon people in any position of power to do whatever they can to build consensus based and discussion oriented communities which build the critical thinking skills of participants by encouraging a free flow of ideas. it is neither cute or valid to behave as if "this is not a democracy" unless one philosophically agrees at their core that authoritarian systems are preferable. it is totally irresponsible to exersize power in such a way unless encouraging a democratic community is not feasible. people with power must move beyond their perceived rights to exersize their power and think about the responsibility they have to setting rules which encourage the best possible effect on those that participate.
it is only when our social institutions reflect our values that we will attain the ends our values seek to bring about.
Rousseau asks us how can democracy succeed when most social institutions (the family, the workplace, etc) that we participate in aren't democratic - but totalitarian. we know that interacting with systems frequently and over long periods of time modifies the way we think and the way we act. when we vote every couple of years (participate in democracy) but spend the vast majority of the time in our day to day lives participating in systems which are anti-democratic - which type of institution are we likely to reflect in our personal behavior? when confronted with choices in your life which behaviors are we likely to replicate - those which we practice symbolically every few years or those which we practice daily and which the sustenance of our life is dependent on?
we must ask the question "how can we truly value or meaningfully participate in democracy when everything we encounter reinforces authoritarian hierarchies and our place in them."
it is incumbent upon people in any position of power to do whatever they can to build consensus based and discussion oriented communities which build the critical thinking skills of participants by encouraging a free flow of ideas. it is neither cute or valid to behave as if "this is not a democracy" unless one philosophically agrees at their core that authoritarian systems are preferable. it is totally irresponsible to exersize power in such a way unless encouraging a democratic community is not feasible. people with power must move beyond their perceived rights to exersize their power and think about the responsibility they have to setting rules which encourage the best possible effect on those that participate.
it is only when our social institutions reflect our values that we will attain the ends our values seek to bring about.