In his Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau posits that early social cont

Question

In his Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau posits that early social contract theories establish unjust social and political arrangements that provide only the appearance of legitimacy and equality.

In Rousseau’s accounting, the beginnings of the social contract lie in the fears of the rich. In a state of nature, one in which there is no government or law to control the interactions of people, the rich would have great difficulty protecting the property that they possess. Thus, the rich turn to the mechanism of the social contract to shore up the holdings Rousseau views as “hoarded.” The concept of a social contract is appealing to the poor, because the poor fear death in a state of lawlessness and thus seek protection. To obtain assent to the contract, the rich focus their rhetoric on a seeming equality of obligation by creating rules that apply equally to all members of society. This system, however, simply systematizes the “theft” the rich had perpetrated on the poor in the pre-law state of nature.

Rousseau then begins to develop his own vision of a social contract, through which he attempts to right these injustices. His first departure from earlier theorists is in the formation of the sovereign. Rather than members of the state surrendering their rights to another person— an irrational course of action tantamount to surrendering oneself into slavery—they surrender their right to all members of the society and thus to no one. Rousseau refers to this sovereign as the “general will” and it has the task of legislating for the new civil society that is created in the contract.

Unlike early social contract theories, Rousseau’s version conceives of property rights that allow for rights of first occupancy to justify claims, rather than rights of the strongest. In this system, property can be taken only if it has not been previously occupied and only to the degree necessary for the  subsistence  of those taking it, measures intended as a check to the hoarding of property by force enshrined in earlier contract theory.    1 
 1. Which of the following societies would Rousseau be likely to endorse?

(A) A society in which there is no government or law to control how people interact with each other.
(B) A society in which a primary leader is elected through a fair democratic process.
(C) A society in which there is only communal property, rather than private property.
(D) A society in which the social contract has been dismantled and replaced with rights of first occupancy.
(E) A society in which a homeless family could legally move into an empty house they did not purchase.

2  
 2. It can be inferred from the passage that Rousseau would believe which of the following of a society of men and women living without the primary structures of civilization?

(A) Their wealth would inevitably be equally distributed across the population.
(B) Those with more wealth would be at risk of losing it to those with less.
(C) Property would not be hoarded by those who had the most power.
(D) The social contract would be created in order to protect and support the poor.
(E) Property would only be taken if it had not been previously occupied and was necessary for the subsistence of those taking it.

3  
 3. Select the sentence in the second paragraph that explains the mechanism by which a privileged group is able to secure widespread approval for the systematized “theft” it achieves through hoarding.

“To obtain assent to the contract, the rich focus their rhetoric on a seeming equality of obligation by creating rules that apply equally to all members of society.”

4  
 4. In the context in which it appears, “subsistence” ( Highlighted ) most nearly means

(A) survival
(B) enrichment
(C) protection
(D) help
(E) opposition

yaxichi · Answer

Q1: I get it wrong
Q2: 
A: I think A is wrong as it will be like that after the civilization
B: I think it's right since the first passage describes that the rich people (without contract) are fear of not being able to protect their property
C: Still think wrong as it will be after 
D: Wrong, i think it's created for both sides, and more for the rich to 'systematizes the “theft” the rich had perpetrated on the poor in the pre-law state of nature'
E: That's also after the civilization
Q4: I don't remember the word before taking the question but can still get it right here. 
In the sentence, it said a property can only be taken if nobody took it before or the degree necessary for. .... of those taking it. Of the 5 answers, only survival seems to be good since it's the highest level of worst condition that a person can be, struggling to survive.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. Which of the following societies would Rousseau be likely to endorse?

Choice (A)  is wrong because Rousseau did argue for a social contract, meaning there should be some kind of law.

Choice (B)  is wrong because Rousseau did not think members of a state should surrender their rights to a single person.

Choice (C)  is wrong because Rousseau did argue that people could claim property if they needed it, implying the existence of private property in his ideal society.

Choice (D)  is wrong because Rousseau did not want to dismantle the social contract entirely, but to replace it with his own ideal social contract.

Choice (E)  is the answer because Rousseau desired a society where  “property can be taken ... to the degree necessary for the subsistence of those taking it.”

Answer: E

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. It can be inferred from the passage that Rousseau would believe which of the following of a society of men and women living without the primary   structures of civilization?

Choice (A)  is incorrect because the passage states that  “ n a state of nature ... the rich would have great difficulty protecting the property that they possess.”  Even if the rich were to lose their property, nothing indicates that this property would end up evenly distributed among everyone.

Choice (B)  is correct because this is precisely what the sentence cited above says.

Choices (C), (D),  and  (E)  are wrong because they point to Rousseau’s vision for a perfect society, rather than a pre-law society.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

3. Select the sentence in the second paragraph that explains the mechanism by which a privileged group is able to secure widespread approval for the systematized “theft” it achieves through hoarding.

“To obtain assent to the contract, the rich focus their rhetoric on a seeming equality of obligation by creating rules that apply equally to all members of society.”    This sentence from the second paragraph shows the mechanism by which the wealthy are able to convince the poor to agree to a social contract that will allow them to be defrauded. Be careful not to go looking in the passage for specific language mentioned in the question (like “hoarding” or “systematized”). More often than not, that will lead you to the wrong sentence.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

4. In the context in which it appears, “subsistence” (     Highlighted     ) most nearly means

Choice (A)  is correct because the passage says that people should only take something if they need it (i.e., for survival).

Choice (B)  is wrong because it is the exact opposite of what the passage says, in that people should not simply enrich themselves with property.

Choice (C)  is wrong because though a house could be protection, that’s not what  “subsistence”  means.

Choice (D)  is wrong because it isn’t specific enough.

Choice (E)  does not fit the meaning of the sentence. 
  
  Answer: A

In his Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau posits that early social cont

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards