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how laws should be laid down. How can a people as a
whole sit down together and write up a code of law? There
is not only the problem of how such a large number could
write up such a document together, but also the problem
that the people do not always know what they want or
what is best for them. Rousseau's proposed solution comesin the form of a lawgiver.
An ideal lawgiver is not easy to find. He must be supremely
intelligent, and willing to work selflessly on behalf of a
people. Because the laws shape the character and behavior
of the people to a great extent, the lawgiver must exhibit
great insight. In order for the laws to be unbiased, the
lawgiver should not himself be a citizen of the state to
which he gives laws. He is outside and above the authority
of the sovereign. Remarking on the difficulty of finding
such a person, Rousseau notes: "Gods would be needed to
give men laws."
Not only is there the difficulty of finding a lawmaker of
genius who does not himself wish to govern; there is also
the difficulty of making the people obey the laws. People
are unlikely to simply accept the laws given to them by a
particular person. Rousseau notes that throughout history,
lawgivers have used the authority of God or some otherdivine power to support them. Moses, for instance, claims
that God gave him the Ten Commandments. An appeal to
the supernatural origins of the laws is generally a good
means of ensuring that they are obeyed.
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