Societies, Rousseau believed, were to be governed by the general will, which is the good of the community. The general will is distinct from the individual will, and even from a majority or unanimous consensus, which can be selfish. Society should be compelled to follow the general will, hold no elections, no private property, or personal wealth (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2014, p. 199). Furthermore, since people are inherently good, education should follow children’s natural impulses rather than attempt to structure them. The child is then free to follow his or her own interests and abilities and the educational process is responsive to the child. The author of Proverbs 22:6, however, seems to disagree, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (New King James Version). It is possible for children who are not given guidance and instruction to become self-centered and impulsive, just as a garden that is not tended becomes overrun with weeds. The ideas Rousseau proposed sound utopian, presupposing people are inherently good. If sin is a reality in people’s lives, however, Rousseau’s ideas sound narcissistic and totalitarian rather than
Societies, Rousseau believed, were to be governed by the general will, which is the good of the community. The general will is distinct from the individual will, and even from a majority or unanimous consensus, which can be selfish. Society should be compelled to follow the general will, hold no elections, no private property, or personal wealth (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2014, p. 199). Furthermore, since people are inherently good, education should follow children’s natural impulses rather than attempt to structure them. The child is then free to follow his or her own interests and abilities and the educational process is responsive to the child. The author of Proverbs 22:6, however, seems to disagree, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (New King James Version). It is possible for children who are not given guidance and instruction to become self-centered and impulsive, just as a garden that is not tended becomes overrun with weeds. The ideas Rousseau proposed sound utopian, presupposing people are inherently good. If sin is a reality in people’s lives, however, Rousseau’s ideas sound narcissistic and totalitarian rather than