Abstract:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), one of the modern-term contractarian philosophers, has expressed theoretical foundations of how the relation among individual, society and state is shaped and how an ideal social order can be established in his social theory. Since equality and freedom are two complementary notions in Rousseau’s theory, he claims that artificial inequalities can only be alleviated by means of applying a fair taxation system and only in this way freedom and equality can be realised. In this regard, the main purpose of this study is to explain what kind of impact Rousseau’s ideas on economy-politics have in shaping the relation among individual, society and state that Rousseau put foward. The hypothesis developed in the study is that individual freedom and equality formulated by Rousseau, one of the important figures of modern republican thought, can only be realised provided that General Will intervenes economic sphere at both production and distrubition stages.

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