Rousseau looked at liberty from a collective perspective. According to him, an individual should keep personal interests aside for social interests. His concept of liberty frees the individual from a class-based system and inequality. According to him, inequality is an obstacle to the attainment of liberty. He maintains that liberty frees an individual from the hurdles created by the rise of civil and political society.
He describes two hurdles on liberty:
One which prohibits an individual to think about public interest
One is created due to inequality in society.
Rousseau did not consider liberty as a natural right as advocated by Hobbes and Locke. He believed that society comes together to protect the life and interest of the individual. Therefore, he gave more importance to emancipation from social inequality. He also stressed the freedom of choice and availability of favorable conditions in the concept of liberty. He believed that obedience to moral laws will enhance liberty. According to Rousseau, the state is a sovereign power that represents the ‘General Will’. Hence he supports the idea of state control over the individual.
