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Social Dilemmas in Light of Theories of the Great Thinkers from pre 19th Century

Introduction

This paper is an effort to highlight certain theories of some of the greatest thinkers of the 18th and 19th century. These theorists include Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, Auguste Comte, Harriet Martineau and Montesquieu. The main aim of this essay would be to relate some of the theories of the mentioned with some critical ongoing issues of the current era.

Discussion

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau is considered as the most unfathomable philosophers of the 18th century Enlightenment. He was a political and sociological philosopher and an essayist. In 1754, he inscribed “The Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality”. The book dealt on the subject of natural goodness of men and the corrupting influences of institutionalized life. This work was preceded in 1750, by “Discourse on the Arts and Sciences”. The essay deducted that science and art were not to be blamed for the corrupted moral in mankind. The succeeding work of 1754, thus, developed on these ideas towards mankind's perversion by laying the causal blame on the institutionalized settings of the world. The year 1762, Rousseau inscribed “The Social Contract”. The book was an effort of understanding the perversions of mankind. The opening sentence in the book, “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains,” is a blunt opener to a work of genius. Rousseau deduced that the man puts forward a 'social contract', through which they surrender their rights and possessions to the 'general will'.

Rousseau's visions about the human nature were idealistic and realistic at the same time. They all pointed towards the betterment of the worlds from the surfacing predicaments. His often optimistic discourses were clad with emotions, persuasively argued with utmost honesty (Kreis, 2009).

Issue

An Editorial of the New York Times, published on 17th of November 2012, 'New Hope on Immigration'. The article considered the 'illegal' status of more than 11 million residents of United States. Obama's proposed Dream Act, tackling the issues of legalization of these immigrants, has not gathered the necessary bipartisan commitment to become a reality, until now. Though, times are changing. With the result of the recently concluded election in Obama's favor, primarily accredited to the Latino, Asian American and other minority voters who supported the democrat 3 to 1. The republicans sense their decline, has sorted out that further alienation of this segment of the population would be dire to their political future in the States. Thus bipartisan commitments are necessary to legalize the 11 million so called 'illegal's' and get approval in the eyes of this communities 'legal' relations and friends. The stance of some of these opportunists is confronted with 'white-culture' alarmists and closet racists within the party. This resistance is dictating a stance of temporary legal status for such immigrants with no defined path to citizenship (www.nytimes.com).

In perspective of Rousseau's lifelong stance on institutionalizations impact on corrupting the natural goodness of people, I can certainly relate to this issue. ...