ABSTRACT
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was least influential when least logical. The doctrine of the General Will, shorn of its modifications, and the sentiment with which he surrounded his conception of the small State, are the things which give him his place in political history. The crucial test of the legitimacy of any political unit lies in the existence of a General Will. The smaller the State, the more does the General Will prevail, and only in a State whose dimensions are so small as to permit of assemblies of the people can the General Will be constantly evident and active. The measures which Rousseau considered essential to the promotion of the solidarity and devotion to the State are written all over his political works. That constitutional and legal machinery alone, however perfect in itself, will maintain the good government and happiness of men, is a suggestion one would never associate with Rousseau.
