Freedom Under the General Will

Rousseau claims that the social contract, by constraining us to act in accordance with the general will, makes each of us more free than we would be in the state of nature. I offer an interpretation of this claim. I argue that 1) the general will makes each of us more free in the sense that that governance by the general will puts each of us in a better position to exercise moral freedom, i.e., to properly exercise our freedom of will; 2) partly by promoting various kinds of equality, which in turn may be possible only by limiting some individuals freedom to execute actions; but that 3) this sort of limitation would be unobjectionable on the appropriate understanding of the distinctive importance of human freedom. On this account, egalitarian laws are made justifiable by appeal to the fact that promoting moral freedom has an importance that is prior to the importance of increasing individuals freedom as power to execute actions.