Where man exists in a state of nature, man is free. Man is free because he is not burdened by any political system or by the will of others. He is the commander of his will, as he is able to pursue his own ends — self-determination — on account of his ability to reason and seek out what he wants. However, no man is island, and life in the state of nature is difficult, lonely and burdensome. Thus, man comes together to form civilisation and community to protect himself from the harm of the natural world. Through co-operation, the creation of the division of labour and of private property, we are able to grow society to meet the needs of increasing numbers of people.

However, private property gives man the ability to exclude others from land and to subject others to his will, while the division of labour alienates man from work and from his fellow man. This results in man competing with each other for labour and limited resources, causing unnatural inequality and the breakdown of natural freedom and human unity. This inequality is unnatural because it is ultimately the product of human choice, political will and the system of private property. Unnatural inequality infringes man’s ability to seek out his own ends, to reason and to participate wilfully in civil society. He is no longer free because he is subject to the will of another — the individual and the system. Many of us are aware that individuals and the state enforce selfish and separate interests, which lead them to oppress others.

As a result, we develop moral laws and legal rules, which help govern societies, in order to avoid situations where those with property exploit the will of those with none. We create constitutions and moral codes to constrain one from enforcing his will on others and using/exploiting other people as a means to further his own will. Thus, we have developed the concept of democracy whereby society is ideologically ruled by the general will of the people. This enables individuals in society to directly express their own will, as a collective, as an end in itself. Because we are all rational beings, we all have the capacity to reason, to think and to seek out our own ends. Therefore, through democracy, we are equally able to influence and have our will heard by others so that no one has the ability to unilaterally impose their will on another.

However, some persons commentate that this general or majority rule of the people will be taken as a threat to minorities, as a lack of understanding to anyone that represents the other; and this gives rise to mob rule and the threat that those with majority power may use their collective will to influence society in a way that best suits them for their own self-interest. But this general will, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau sees it, is not the tyranny of the poor or the dictatorship of the proletariat, but rather the general will that exists to protect the interests of the individual against the majority. The general will of the people, for Rousseau, embodies a social contract between members of society to be good; to guarantee equality and justice, and consequently man’s own freedom.

For Rousseau, “loyalty to the good of all alike must be a supreme commitment by everyone”. We all must strive to be good. To look after each other. To care for our neighbours. To love one another as we all deserve to be loved ourselves. To be good is to care for the other and the world around us. And, conversely, to care for the other and the world around us is to be good. When we recognise the goodness in our hearts and share this goodness with others, we are actively transforming the world into a better place, into a more tolerant, peaceful and understanding place. A place where we understand that we all must be treated equally and fairly, which consequently produces a state and political landscape that allows humanity and freedom to flourish.

For this to take place, individuals and society must first come to value equality, justice and freedom. We must come to love our neighbour as the Scripture dictates. As God loves us all unconditionally in his own image, so, too, must we love ourselves and others. We must recognise the impartiality of justice, informed to us by the rule of law, that we are all equal human beings before the courts, and we deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. By doing this, we help create the foundation for which we can all experience pure freedom. Freedom that truly recognises that mankind is free. That we are rational beings, guided by reason and the beauty of life.

It is because we are rational that we deserve to be free. It is because we are rational that we can experience beauty. To be free is what it means to be human. And freedom is beauty in and of itself. To be free to express one’s will through art, literature, science, technology, culture is beautiful; it is what it means to be human.

Ensuring a world of pure freedom is Bermuda Is Love’s objective. To paraphrase the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, we will reach the goal of freedom in Bermuda because the goal of Bermuda is freedom. And we will reach the goal of freedom all over the world because freedom is what it means to be human. To reach this beautiful destination that is human freedom, we must open ourselves up unto the other. But we cannot wait for this destiny to arrive on our shores from afar. We must make it a reality today. We must commit to the values of equality, justice and freedom, and actively love each other for the good of all.

• Aaron Crichlow is the cofounder of Bermuda is Love

Source:The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau