Chapter 3 - The Family as a Model for Society
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Summary
Recall Rousseau's striking comparison that was mentioned in the introduction to this book:
The family is the first model of political societies. The head of society corresponds to the position of the father; whereas the people, themselves, correspond to the image of the children. What is more, all are born equal…. The only difference is that with the family, the love of the father for his children is what, as it were, rewards him for that which he does on their behalf.
(Social Contract Bk I, Ch. 2)My aim in this chapter is to make good Rousseau's striking claim that the family serves, not only as a model for society, but as the first model, by delineating several ways in which raising children has important parallels in a just society. A caveat is in order. We do not characteristically refer to the family as just. Instead, it is usually characterized as loving or not. So strictly speaking, the parallel is between a loving family and a just society. As we shall see, however, this parallel is more apt than one might initially suppose, because society has an analogue to parental love and the family has an analogue to rights.
SOME PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Although Rousseau never really defends the claim that the family serves as a model for society, there can be little doubt that he intended it.
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- Information
- The Family and the Political Self , pp. 83 - 129Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006