But this idea also led Rousseau to utopianism — to the belief that the right organization of society would bring about perfect equality and freedom. Rousseau outlined his scheme in The Social Contract. He said that far from being a fundamental right, private property was the source of inequality in the world. To reach an equitable society, all private property had to be abolished, and with it, the idea that the individual had a right to determine her or his interests. Instead, everyone without exception had to submit the final determination of their interests to the general will so that true
...more
