locke & rousseau the child and the citizen (in theory)

Locke & Rousseau

The Child and The Citizen(in theory)

Context Matters: J. Locke• widely known as the “Father of

Liberalism” – limited gov./citizen rights/protection of

property

• Philosopher, physician, tutor• At age of 54 began to publish ideas

primarily on government , education, and the individual

• Best known for ideas on:– empiricism, social contract,

natural law, tabula rasa• Ideas are said to have influenced:

– Modern democracy, American Revolution, the enlightenment

b/ 1632 in Somerset, England d/October 1704 in Essex, England

Context Matters: J.J. Rousseau

• Philosopher, Composer, Tutor• At 38 began to publish writings on

art, philosophy and music. But it was 1760 before he began to publish what are now his seminal texts on citizenship and education

• Best known for ideas on:– Romanticism, social contract,

“education for citizenship”• Ideas are said to have influenced:

– Modern democracy, the French and American Revolution, the Romantic revival in 18th C art

b/ June 1712 Geneva d/ July 1778 Ermenonrville, France

Context MattersLocke- Some Thoughts

• Published in 1692• Written while Locke was in

Holland (he had first come to Holland in exile in the 1680s – but returned to England in 1688/89 with wife of William of Orange- William III from 1689->)

• First written as a series of letters to: Edward Clarke, of Chipley, Esq.

• The letters were a series of advice from Locke who had spent his life as tutor, on how a man of privilege should raise his son

• Written at the same time as “Second Treatise”

Locke- Second Treatise

• Published in 1690• Second of “Two Treatise of Civil

Government”• As a direct response to The

Glorious Revolution in 1688? • (There is some debate as to the

date in which these texts were written)

• Argued against absolute monarchy and for the active role of the individual in government

• Printed at the same time as “Some Thoughts,” “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding,” and a Letter Concerning Toleration”

Context MattersRousseau- Emile• Published in 1762• Alternate title “On Education”• Published same year as social

contract• Suggests the importance of

educating the “whole person” for citizenship

• Book was banned in Paris and Geneva and even publicly burned in 1762

• But later, during Fr. Rev. Became a major influence in the development of a new French education system

Rousseau- Social Contract• Published in 1762• Questioned validly of the monarchy• At this time, Louis XV (son of Louis

the 14th (l’etat c’est moi) reigned- until 1774

• Became king at age 5, but did not consume full power until 1743 –at 33

• Over the next 30 years, his lavish spending at court , several mistress, and lack of military success- (secession of Austrian territory in Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, 7 years war with England 1754-1763 and The 1763 Treaty of Paris confirmed the loss of French possessions in North America and Asia to the British)

• Place France in heavy debt and removed popular opinion of monarchy

So why does all this matter?• Both Locke and Rousseau are responding to their social and

political environment – These are very precise historical moments

• Both L & R are speaking out against absolute monarchy- and calling for more “civil” authority

• Both are dealing with changing roles in parliament (and both are also dealing with an aristocracy, funded by early capitalism that desires more power vs. a monarchy seeking to hold power & $)

• For both L &R it is only the people who give legitimacy to governance

• But for both, this involves compromise of individual freedoms for protection of others (ie/ property)

So What do they propose?

• Both L & R connect citizenship to participation • Both L & R see the need for education to

create good citizens• Both L & R see the family as the earliest

construction of natural government (to which they argue the monarchy is an unnatural government)

• Both L & R want to use “the child” as a metaphor for the citizen in waiting.

Important Theoretical Questions to

ask and answer in order to

understand the arguments::

• How do L & R- see “the child”– L: tabula rasa, ungoverned, unknowing, at times

wild and selfish (motivated by impulses) and yet rational – R: Romantic, pure, naive, curious, inquisitive, and

yet capable




• How is the family a metaphor for government?All men are born into the existing relationship of the

family, under which they serve a period of tutelage and obedience to (for L: the mother and father, for R: the father and tutor) to learn, until which point they reach the age of maturity or reason and can then govern themselves




• Who is a citizen?All men are born citizens- but must reach the age of

reason/maturity in order to activate that citizenship(again it is very time/space specific- we are dealing

here with white, male, land owner, aristocrats- for the most part)




• What is the role of the citizen/ What is the role of gov?In both cases, it is the citizen, who in forgoing their ability to

govern themselves in a natural sate, join into communion with others to form a bond- a social contract, in which the state agrees to protect their property- and right to property

AND THEREFORE: there can be no absolute monarchIt is the citizen who gives legitimacy to the government

The “tensions” and “paradoxes”• For both L & R the tensions and paradoxes lay:

• in their representation of the child• In their metaphor of child as citizen in waiting• In their limited conceptions of democracy

For L:• The child as blank slate and yet rational• The child as ungoverned and yet entitled

For R:• The child as irrational and yet capable• The child as person and yet “unformed”

• Both see the education of the child as fundamental to citizenship, and the child as citizen at birth- but neither see the child as citizen

-Why this matters to CS students-

• In L & R we have the two most influential thinkers in the modern construction of childhood:

• -the child as blank slate/ the child as innocent• These 2 constructions are the dominant force

behind the DE POLITICIZATION OF CHILDREN through the MOCI

• Ironic then, since they are also the two most influential thinkers in the construction of modern democracy

conclusionTWO PARALLEL LINES:

• The theory of democracy and the theory of the child• One can not be separated from the other (much like

capitalism and democracy as argued earlier)• Both grounded in ideals of education and citizenship

and in the importance of voice, representation, and participation

• And yet- in practise – never have two “ideals” been more mutually exclusive

• TO RECONCILE THESE- we must: lower the voting age, enforce the UNCRC, flip the map, and bridge the local and the global...easier said than done!

locke & rousseau the child and the citizen (in theory)

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