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... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political theory > modern political thought > democratic theory/liberalism > general will (political theory)
... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political theory > democratic thought > general will (political theory)
social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political concepts > general will (political theory)
... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political theory > modern political thought > power and authority > general will (political theory)
... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political theory > power and authority > general will (political theory)
... > social science subjects > politics and international relations > political science > political theory > self and community > general will (political theory)

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general will (political theory)  

Definition

  • The central idea in the political thought of JeanJacques Rousseau, the general will (volonté générale) had already figured in French theological and philosophical discourse for a century before Rousseau appropriated it and made it forever his own. The general will first gained wide circulation in the writings of Nicholas Malebranche, who employs the term in the Traité de la nature et de la grace to characterize the way in which God's will operates in the world. [Source: Encyclopedia of Political Theory; General Will]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/general_will_(political_theory)

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