Jean-Jacques Rousseau · Complete work
Book III, Chapter 17
Book III, Chapter 17 of 49. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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De l’institution du Gouvernement.
Sous quelle idée faut-il donc concevoir l’acte par lequel le Gouvernement est institué? Je remarquerai d’abord que cet acte est complexe ou composé de deux autres, savoir l’établissement de la loi, & l’exécution de la loi.
Par le premier, le Souverain statue qu’il y aura un corps de Gouvernement établi sous telle ou telle forme; & il est clair que cet acte est une loi.
Par le second, le Peuple nomme les chefs qui seront chargés du Gouvernement établi. Or cette nomination étant un acte particulier n’est pas une seconde loi, mais seulement une suite de la premiere & une fonction du Gouvernement.
La difficulté est d’entendre comment on peut avoir un acte de Gouvernement avant que le Gouvernement existe, & comment le Peuple, qui n’est que Souverain ou sujet, peut devenir Prince ou Magistrat dans certaines circonstances.
C’est encore ici que se découvre une de ces étonnantes propriétés du corps politique, par lesquelles il concilie des opérations contradictoires en apparence. Car celle-ci se fait par une conversion subite de la Souveraineté en Démocratie; en sorte que, sans aucun changement sensible, & seulement par une nouvelle rélation de tous à tous, les Citoyens devenus Magistrats passent des actes généraux aux actes particuliers, & de la loi à l’exécution.
Ce changement de rélation n’est point une subtilité de spéculation sans exemple dans la pratique: Il a lieu tous les jours dans le Parlement d’Angleterre, où la Chambre-basse en certaines occasions se tourne en grand Commité, pour mieux discuter les affaires, & devient ainsi simple commission, de Cour Souveraine qu’elle étoit l’instant précédent; en telle sorte qu’elle se fait ensuite rapport à elle-même comme chambre des Communes de ce qu’elle vient de regler en grand-Commité, & délibere de nouveau sous un titre de ce qu’elle a déjà résolu sous un autre.
Tel est l’avantage propre au Gouvernement Démocratique de pouvoir être établi dans le fait par un simple acte de la volonté générale. Après quoi, ce Gouvernement provisionnel reste en possession si telle est la forme adoptée, ou établit au nom du Souverain le Gouvernement prescrit par la loi, & tout se trouve ainsi dans la regle. Il n’est pas possible d’instituer le Gouvernement d’aucune autre maniere légitime, & sans renoncer aux principes ci-devant établis.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete French text of the 1762 edition, all four books and the appendix for fidelity, the author’s force and cadence, and modern clarity.
On the Institution of Government.
How, then, are we to conceive of the act by which government is instituted? I shall first observe that this act is complex, or composed of two others: the establishment of a law and the execution of that law.
By the first, the sovereign decrees that a body of government shall be established in one form or another; and clearly this act is a law.
By the second, the people appoint the chiefs who will be entrusted with the government thus established. Now, since this appointment is a particular act, it is not a second law, but only a consequence of the first and a function of government.
The difficulty is to understand how there can be an act of government before government exists, and how the people, who are only sovereign or subject, can in certain circumstances become prince or magistrate.
Here again we discover one of those astonishing properties of the body politic by which it reconciles operations apparently at odds. This is accomplished by a sudden conversion of sovereignty into democracy: without any perceptible change, and solely through a new relation of all to all, the citizens, now become magistrates, pass from general acts to particular acts, and from law to its execution.
This change in relation is not a speculative subtlety without an example in practice. It occurs every day in the Parliament of England, where on certain occasions the lower house turns itself into a grand committee to discuss business more fully, and so becomes a mere committee, though the moment before it was a sovereign court. It then reports to itself, as the House of Commons, what it has just settled as the grand committee, and deliberates anew under one title on what it has already resolved under another.
This is the distinctive advantage of democratic government: it can in fact be established by a simple act of the general will. Afterward, this provisional government remains in place if that is the form adopted, or establishes, in the sovereign's name, the government prescribed by law; and thus everything proceeds according to rule. No government can be legitimately instituted in any other way without renouncing the principles established above.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the complete French text of the 1762 edition, all four books and the appendix.
How a Government Is Established.
How, then, should we understand the act that establishes a government? First, I should point out that this act is complex: it is made up of two other acts, namely making the law and carrying out the law.
In the first, the sovereign decides that a governing body of a certain kind will be established. Clearly, this act is a law.
In the second, the people appoint the leaders who will be responsible for the government so established. This appointment is a particular act. It is therefore not a second law but only a consequence of the first law and an exercise of government power.
The difficulty is understanding how an act of government can take place before a government exists, and how the people, who are only sovereign or subjects, can in certain circumstances become prince or magistrates.
Here again we find one of the political body's astonishing features: it can bring together actions that seem contradictory. In this case it does so by a sudden conversion of sovereignty into democracy. Nothing changes in any visible way. Instead, everyone's relationship to everyone else changes. The citizens become magistrates and move from general acts to particular acts, from lawmaking to carrying out the law.
This change in relationships is not just a theoretical subtlety with no practical example. It happens every day in the Parliament of England. On certain occasions, the lower house becomes a grand committee so it can discuss matters more thoroughly. It thus becomes a mere committee, though a moment earlier it was a sovereign court. Then, as the House of Commons, it reports to itself what it has just decided as a grand committee, and debates anew under one name what it already settled under another.
The special advantage of democratic government is that it can actually be established through a simple act of the general will. After that, this provisional government remains in charge if that is the form adopted. Otherwise, on behalf of the sovereign, it establishes the government prescribed by law. In this way everything is done according to the rules. There is no other legitimate way to establish a government without abandoning the principles set out above.