The Meaning of Law under the Rousseau’s Concept of Social Contract

Abstract

In the Social Contract by Rousseau, the law plays a crucial role in forming a state. It can also be perceived as a critical instrument enabling all people to attain genuine freedom. However, academic works that seek to interpret the meaning of the word law within the context of Rousseau’s work are uncommon in Thailand. According to an examination of Rousseau’s work on the social contract and the works of foreign scholars, the word law in Rousseau’s work refers to constitutional law. It does not refer to the law in the general sense.