KONSTAN’S CRITICISM OF ROUSSEAU’S VIEWS ON POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY AND ATTEMPTS TO LIMIT THE RULE OF MAJORITY

Abstract

The text explores Konstan’s criticism of Rousseau's conception of popular sovereignty. Essentially, Konstan’s theory is the question of freedom. Glorifying and foregrounding the man and his personality, he defines Konstan’s freedom as the characteristic of the individual. For Konstan, freedom in the first place means independence from the government, or limitation of the authorities within the limits of clearly formulated and minimum specified jurisdiction, which in any case can not endanger the natural rights of individuals. Opposing the aspirations for the establishment of unlimited power, and in order to protect the freedom of individual, Konstan revised Rousseau's theory of unlimited sovereignty. Rousseau's and Jacobin-conceived idea of popular sovereignty, Konstan presents through the possibility of tyranny and radical idea of popular sovereignty as a very cause of a tyrannical government. In order to limit the majority rule, Konstan provides a number of institutional mechanisms: 1) an administrative division of the country, 2) a neutral kingdom, 3) the upper house of parliament, 4) an independent judicial power, 5) individual civil rights, 6) limited right to vote.