General will

What Dominique Pagani says

Dominique Pagani links the general will to Rousseau, whom he places on a third level, dismissing both the supporters of the Ancien Régime and the liberals of the Enlightenment1. He distinguishes it from the will of a few, of a minority or of a class, as well as from the mere sum of particular wills: it is a whole that is more than the sum of its parts23. He identifies it with the State insofar as it includes us all, unlike a government placed above us that does without us4. This bond between citizens is based neither on colour nor on biology5. For him, this State extends individual freedom, which has hardly any limit other than the general will, whose power grows with technical progress6. He gives the example of the will expressed in 2005 and then annulled7. Finally, he holds that what used to be called the left must find common ground again around this notion8.

1. 1« D’un triangle de folie au cœur de la conscience moderne »19 Dec 2014 · 5:18
2. 2Mon éco-cabane dans la ZAD : autonomie ou aliénation ? • Q&A Philosophique • Dominique Pagani30 Apr 2021 · 14:11
3. 3ÉTAT ET APPAREIL D'ÉTAT - Le conflit du public et du privé29 Aug 2025 · 12:53
4. 4Tout est permis mais rien n'est possible - Michel Clouscard - 229 Jan 2012 · 24:11
5. 5P comme Peuple30 Dec 2014 · 7:08
6. 6Mon éco-cabane dans la ZAD : autonomie ou aliénation ? • Q&A Philosophique • Dominique Pagani30 Apr 2021 · 15:51
7. 7#15 • Retour aux logiques du sujet23 Jul 2020 · 1:08:43
8. 8ÉTAT ET APPAREIL D'ÉTAT - Le conflit du public et du privé29 Aug 2025 · 27:40

Summary produced automatically from 9 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.