Direito natural e limites do poder soberano na teoria política de Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Abstract

This work discusses man's natural right as a relevant idea in the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's political theory. Although it is up to the sovereign to determine the boundaries of its power, it will do so observing the conditions of the pact of association, which guarantee individual rights, conditioned by the common good. Rousseau's admission that the individual is entitled to a right based on his human condition does not make him a liberal like authors such as Locke, for example, who advocate a broader sphere of freedom, while Rousseau proposes greater intervention in the life of the members of the political body. Our goal is to demonstrate the importance of understanding the notion of absolute sovereign power. In Rousseaun theory, this power is absolute in a special sense: it is up to the sovereign (the people) to formulate, change and rescind laws based on the common will. However, this power, determinant of sovereignty, should not extend beyond the objectives of the contract and, in particular, the conditions of human nature and the concrete possibilities of each society.