Difficulty

Ramzi Chamcham

Ms. Dania Adra

English 203

10 October 2015

I took this picture when I dropped off my mom at work in downtown, I think this picture is a perfect example of what Rousseau says about man always being in chains, this is where a protest took place when the enraged citizens wanted their rights back. And what the government does, is put barriers to stop them instead of cooperating. We can see behind the man jumping over the barrier which was put to stop the protestors from having access to parliament, an even bigger metal barrier which leads to the governmental palace. the parliament and the governmental palace should be providing at least the minimum life requirements such as water, electricity, picking up the garbage off the streets, health care, education and security to the people, instead the government and politicians put the barriers to protect themselves from the consequences of their own mistakes and corruption.

Rousseau claimed in his text “Here’s one who thinks he is the master of others, yet he is more enslaved than they are.” (Rousseau 114) The barriers can be seen as a symbol of restriction, separating the people from their rights and preventing them from even being able to fight for them. However, by putting these blockades they are actually imprisoning themselves behind these constraints and proving that they are still living in a state of nature “But the social order isn’t to be understood in terms of force; it is a sacred right on which all other rights are based.” (Rousseau 114) Force is being used to stop the people who are asking for nothing other than what they deserve.

I think Rousseau is completely right about what he says in his text the social contract does in fact beat the natural state because “obedience to a law that we prescribe to ourselves is liberty.” (Rousseau 115) However what is happening in the photo is a prevention of being able to prescribe laws to ourselves in the first place, so all we can do is fight for our liberty to create our own system, a system which every citizen will be satisfied with and won’t have to deal with any restrictions given by politicians who only care about their own selfish needs and money.

The photo I took is a physical representation of what Rousseau is saying in his text. In fact, the Swiss philosopher describes the relationship between the rights, the human being and the system. Moreover, he shows us that respecting the law doesn’t limit a man’s freedom. However, it allows him to know what his most basic rights are. He distinguishes between natural liberty and civil liberty and between possession and property proving that laws are not losses but gains as well.

The man in the photo symbolizes the transformation of the dull limited animal to the thinking being as Rousseau says inn his text.

In conclusion, laws when obeyed reduce chaos, set order and provide liberty in the society. However, men shouldn’t abuse this liberty because they will then give the system a justification to take it away. But also oppressed citizens hold the justification to revolt against the system. Therefore there should be a balance between duties and rights.

Work cited:

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques.”The Social Contract. “Shifting Narratives: A Reader For Academic Writing.Ed. Sinno,Zane , Bioghlu-Karkanawi, lina , Flezsar, Dororta , Jarkas, Najla , Moughabghab , Emma , M.Nish, Jennifer, Rantisi, Rami, Ward, Abir.Beirut:Educart,2015.Print.