ABSTRACT
It is fairly clear that Rousseau is thinking here of a reconciliation of different private interests. If two men have to live together, they will work out some common way of life that will satisfy both of them; if a third comes into the household, his tastes and habits will have to be considered, and adjustments made. In the Discourse on Inequality Rousseau adopts the concept of the state of nature, but he treats it rather more realistically than either Hobbes or Locke. For Rousseau had grasped the fundamental point that man in a state of nature would be quite a different animal from man as people know him. Green draws the conclusion that any sovereign who secures habitual obedience may be presumed to rule in conformity with the general will, or the common good. Green argues that the concept of a common good plays its part even in formation of institutions which have arisen through selfish motives of men.
