As apart from the normal definition of power (as in abilities, capacities, or forces that people have), Rousseau frequently writes about powers, in the sense of different agencies or institutions. For instance, he calls the government “the executive power” and the sovereign “the legislative power.” In Book I, he also explains that, from the perspective of international relations, any given nation can be considered a sovereign power in relation to other nations. (The word is often used this way in the context of wars—for instance, World War I was fought between the “Allied Powers” and “Central Powers.”)
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Power Term Timeline in The Social Contract
The timeline below shows where the term Power appears in The Social Contract. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 6: The Social Pact
...is governed by laws); a sovereign (as a body that “active[ly]” makes laws); or a power (when compared with other nations). Its members are “a people” made of individual “citizens” who...
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Book 2, Chapter 4: The Limits of Sovereign Power
...and inferior,” but rather one “of the body with each of its members.” The sovereign power cannot exceed the limits of these covenants by violating citizens’ rights or arbitrarily burdening them...
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Book 3, Chapter 1: Of Government in General
...strength which executes” the intention). In a state, these correspond to the legislative and executive powers, respectively, which must work together to enact the general will. The people hold the legislative...
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Book 3, Chapter 4: Democracy
Democracy “unite[s] the executive power with the legislative,” but this creates a situation Rousseau calls “government without government.” Namely, “the...
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Book 3, Chapter 6: Monarchy
In monarchy, a single person carries the government’s entire executive power. Therefore, it produces maximal results with minimal effort, but it places no checks on the...
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Book 3, Chapter 10: The Abuse of Government and its Tendency to Degenerate
...of a man.” And “a government degenerates” when the government itself shrinks—after it starts losing power and activity, it consolidates into fewer people’s hands—or when the state dissolves because either the...
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Book 3, Chapter 11: The Death of the Body Politic
...lifespan depends on that of its legislative branch, which is like its heart: the legislative power constantly revalidates the original laws of a country, and in a healthy state these laws...
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Book 3, Chapter 14: The Same—Continued
...is momentarily invalid (because it is only ever an expression of the fundamentally superior sovereign power). This tends to scare the magistrates that run the government, and when they try to...
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Book 3, Chapter 15: Deputies or Representatives
...so can neither be represented nor alienated. (Of course, representation is proper for the executive power, or government, as Rousseau has argued throughout Book 3.) Representation in legislatures is a historical...
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Book 3, Chapter 16: That the Institution of the Government is not a Contract
Rousseau reiterates that the legislative (sovereign) and executive (government) powers must be separate, so that there is a clear distinction between laws themselves and actions...
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Book 4, Chapter 4: The Roman Comitia
...comitia was strictly an assembly of citizens, not including the Senators (who had the executive power). Rousseau thinks that each of these systems had different origins and benefits, but the second...
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Book 4, Chapter 5: The Tribunate
Rousseau explains that sometimes “a special magistrate” called a tribunate is necessary to balance power among the sovereign, the government, and the people. It is neither legislative nor executive—in fact,...
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Book 4, Chapter 8: The Civil Religion
...Christian nations. “The clergy” is simultaneously legislative and executive, meaning that Christian countries have “two powers, two sovereigns.” Rousseau praises Hobbes for “reuniting” the church and state, but concludes that Christianity’s...
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