re positive model. He blamed the arts and sciences, and the wealth and luxury it produced, for
the immorality of modern civilization.
The Discourse was written as a contest entry on the topic: "Has the Restoration of the Sciences and Arts Tended to Purify Morals?" He won the contest although he took the negative position that the arts and sciences had a corrupting effect on people and would lead to the destruction of natural freedom. Rather than benefiting man, the advancement of the arts and sciences and material progress made government more powerful to the detriment of mankind's individual liberty. To Rousseau, the natural state of man was far superior to the civilized materialistic state. Above all else, Rousseau expounded the ideal of individual liberty which is revealed in all his writings. The arts, sciences and social institutions, argued Rousseau, should be banished because they take away individual freedom and individuality. They are frivolous and a waste of time, and most important, lead to luxury which is detrimental to good morals.
The misuse of time is a great evil. Other evils
That are even worse follow after letters and the
the arts. Luxury, born like them of idleness and
man's vanity is one such. Luxury seldom thrives
without the sciences and arts, and they never
The " dissolution of mores," Rousseau argues, "is a
necessary consequence of luxury" (p. 14). In place of such luxury, Rousseau pleads for a simpler, earlier time when nature was more valued than luxury. How to act well is more essential to human happiness that the arts and sciences and ensuing luxury offer. Rousseau, then, holds that morality can only flourish when men live a simple, dutiful life. His contention that men were happier and more free when they lived in a state of nature informs all his work. His concerns are always with the relationship between law and morality, and the relationship between authority a...