Popular sovereignty is the doctrine that ultimate political authority resides in the people themselves rather than in a monarch, an aristocracy, or any other ruling body, and that governments derive their legitimate powers from the people's collective will. Its most influential modern statement is Jean-Jacques Rousseau's account of the general will in The Social Contract (1762), where sovereignty is inalienable, indivisible, and can never be represented, only exercised directly by the citizen body.
Facts
Founding ContextDeveloped from social contract theory, most influentially in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1762 The Social Contract, which located ultimate political authority in the collective will of the people rather than in a monarch's divine right. 1 Connections
Associated With
Both principles locate ultimate political authority in the people; consent of the governed supplies the individual level warrant, popular sovereignty the collective level doctrine.
Source Shura (Wikipedia)
Rousseau's formulation of popular sovereignty is developed within, and is inseparable from, his social contract theory.
Source Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Held Differently
Source Tyranny of the Majority (Wikipedia)
Founded By
Rousseau's account of the general will in The Social Contract (1762) is the paradigmatic modern statement of popular sovereignty: sovereignty is inalienable and can never be represented, only exercised by the assembled citizen body.
Source Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Influenced By
Source Declaration of Independence, 1776 (National Archives)
Source Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Elysee)
Source Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Sources
1. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy3. Political Philosophy
The general will is the source of law and is willed by each and every citizen.
- Founded By: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Associated With: The Social Contract
- Influenced By: The Social Contract
View the Source Sovereignty (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Shura (Wikipedia)
Tyranny of the Majority (Wikipedia)
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Elysee)
Elysee (French Presidency)Influenced By: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenView the Source Declaration of Independence, 1776 (National Archives)
U.S. National ArchivesInfluenced By: Declaration of IndependenceView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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