For Rousseau, the notion of general will is essential. The state can only function well when individuals are able to sacrifice their individuality for a conception of freedom that is collective in vision and scope. A few things should be noted with such a revelation. The first would be that Rousseau felt that freedom is a collective and social one, and that the state must acknowledge that. Recall his quote, "Man is free, but born in chains." For Rousseau, the successful state works to break this form of bondage and that can only happen when there is a collectivized general will amongst individuals. Additionally, the state's primary function is to enhance the notion of proper love of self, amour propre, and mitigate its antagonistic other, amour de soi. For Rousseau, the general will- a state where individuals forgo their sense of individuality for something larger- is where this can be accomplished.
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