Rousseau and the Collectivist Concept of Freedom
A 79 minute YouTube publication from Aug 01, 2023 by George Walsh
YouTube, 2023
Duration
79
mins
Notes
Part 2
Primary language:
English
Details
This two-lecture series on Rousseau, delivered in the late 1980s, shines a spotlight on the great intellectual outlier of the Enlightenment. While Voltaire, the Physiocrats, Locke, Smith, and Hume promoted rationalism and individual freedom, Rousseau was a harsh, if sometimes veiled, critic of both. Walsh paints Rousseau as an early adopter of the Orwellian idea that “Freedom Is Slavery” – and the proto-totalitarian inspiration of not only the French Revolution, but the socialist and nationalist revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries.
It's unclear when this recording was made - it may or may not be from the conference.