Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Theory of the Good Savage

As regards the history of Europe, the theory of the good savage proposed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau It is one of the pieces of political philosophy that have most influenced not only our conception of what the politics, but also on what we believe to be "natural" and "artificial" and the implications this distinction has on our life.

Next we will review the concept of "good savage" that Rousseau used in his writings. But let's start with the basics.

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Who was Jean-Jacques Rousseau?

In Europe in the mid-18th century, the scientific and intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment already had begun to undermine the power that religion had held in explaining the nature of being human. The Christian dogmas that appeared in the Bible or in its more or less arbitrary interpretations were no longer justified by themselves; it was necessary to base knowledge on empirical observations.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the great representatives of the Enlightenment.

Born in the year 1712 in Geneva, he had a busy youth. His mother was born before his first birthday, and his father abandoned him shortly after, so he was cared for by his uncle. At sixteen he ran away from home and ended up first in France and then in Venice. His intention during those years was to make a name for himself as a musician.

In the year 1740, Rousseau met Jean d'Alembert and Denis Diderot, two encyclopedists (in charge of creating the first encyclopedias in history), and as a result of his influence, he became interested in philosophy. His ideas were transgressive even in the age of the Enlightenment, among other things because, as we shall see, Rousseau was highly critical of the idea of ​​progress made through scientific refinement and technological.

Rousseau's texts had a great repercussion in the political and social sphere, but the controversies they aroused were also intense. That is why he was moving from one country to another because of the expulsions that he suffered. For a time he was living in England under the shelter of David hume, but even this refuge did not last long, since both philosophers argued and the Swiss had to return to France using a false name (he was not allowed to be in the country). After several years the authorities allowed him to stay in Paris, where he died in 1778.

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Rousseau's Theory of the Good Savage

These are the main theoretical foundations of the good savage theory.

1. Politics is the management of authority and force

Rousseau, like many other political philosophers of his generation, placed great importance on the concept of the "social contract." The social contract is the hypothetical agreement between citizens and holders of power that makes states possible and has a stable structure.

For Rousseau, then, both the existence of the state and of politics implies that there are certain people who force the rest to behave in a way, in principle, for the good of the majority.

2. Private property generates violence

The existence of private property means that the State must create mechanisms to protect it. And as this mission is one of the great pillars of society, when creating laws, the perspective of those who have more properties is adopted. That is, the rich. This, of course, implies that the interests of a minority prevail over those of the majority, who have the fewest properties per head. Citizens only exist as long as they have private property.

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3. Systemic violence in society

As it is difficult to know what is done for the good of the majority and what is not, on the one hand, and one cannot hold responsibility for everything the State does, on the other, corruption and injustices are frequent. In addition, these injustices are not only of the bosses towards civilians: the existence of deficiencies economic and democratic generates a chain effect, so violence between citizens is also common.

Thus, for civilization and states to exist, there must be a certain degree of injustice and violence, since there is a decompensation between people who dominate others and others who are dominated, by not take advantage of mechanisms of oppression that society already offers even before we are born. Laws make unjust relationship dynamics appear between people.

4. Man is born free, but he lives in chains

From the above, Rousseau concludes that we come into the world with a good predisposition for morally good behavior, but that society corrupts us to force us to participate in its game.

5. The concept of the good savage

It should be noted that for Rousseau the idea of ​​"good savage" does not refer to a type of human being who has had to necessarily exist at some remote moment in our history, nor that it perfectly defines the behavior tribal. It is a hypothetical assumption, something that serves to understand the nature of the State, and not to know how we lived before.