Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

c i e t y b e c a use 0 fit s uti lit Y and t ha t a v i a b I e soc i e t y
pre sup p 0 s e s or de r • The ref 0 r e , the state , be i ng the
suppl ier of order, becomes the indispensable agent for
the common good.
Furthermore, both Plato and Rousseau deny that the
comm0 n goodis s i rn ply the wi I I 0 f the rna j 0 r j t Y• For
them the common good has an objective existence which
mu s t bed i s C 0 vered, not c rea ted • For PIa t 0 i t wa s the
"Form of the Good;" for Rousseau, the "General Will."
Bot h bel i eve d t hat the ex i s ting, ear t h 1Y soc i e t y wo u I d
fun c t ion bet t e r the m0 r e c losely itapprox i rna ted the
" For m 0 f the Go 0 d " 0 r the "Genera 1 Wi 1 1 • " The' c r ucia 1
difference between the two lies in their methods of
dis c 0 v e r y • For PIa to, the idea 0 f the c ommo n go0 d, 0 f
the well-ordered, just or ideal society can be grasped
only by a few who, by virtue of this insight, receive
the right -- even duty to govern. "In no community
wh a t so eve r ," PIa to saysin the S ta tesman, "cou I d i t
happen that a large number of people received this gift
of political wisdom and the power to govern by pure intel
ligence which would accompany it. Only in the hands
of the select few or of the enlightened individual can
we look for the right exercise of political power which
isit s elf the 0 net rue con s tit uti 0 n • n tI I t rna ke s no
difference," he comments, "whether their subjects be
willing or unwilling."(lO) Thus, for Plato, the discovery
of the common good requires the existence of a
rul i ng el i te, whose purpose it is to consult the unchanging
and truthful "Form of the Good" and to construct,
like an artist, he says, a society in its
i rna g e • ( 11 ) What P I a t 0 desir e d wa s t he rep 1acemen t of
the "opinions" of politics by the "truth" of philosphy.
And the constituency of the philosopher-kings, as Wolin
poi n t sout, w0 u 1 d not bet he mem be r s 0 f the c omm un i t Y
but rather the "idea of the good community."(12)
For Rousseau, on the other hand, everyone is, at
least potentially, able to perceive the common good.
But in order to do so individuals must ignore their
private or particular will and consciously search only
for the "General Will. tt "When a law is proposed in the
assembly of the people,tt Rousseau says,
what is asked of them is not exactly whether
they approve the propos i tion or reject it,
but whether it is conformable or not to the
general will, which is their own; each one in
giving his vote expresses his opinion thereupon;
and from the counting of the votes is
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