Rousseau argues the central importance of a social contract. Is this a satisfactory basis on which to ground political legitimacy?

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In Le Contrat Social, attempting to "consider if, in political society, there can be any legitimate and sure principle of government" , Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) took up the problem of legitimacy which has remained a burning issue throughout history, especially when people talk about "the global crisis of legitimacy of liberal democracy". However, before trying to determinate how power may be rendered legitimate, the concept of legitimacy itself should be carefully defined. As Jean-Marc Coicaud said, "the idea of legitimacy concerns first and foremost the right to govern". In Latin, legitimus meant "lawful, according to the law", this "right to govern" should not be assimilated to legal validity. A power should be established in conformity to the law to be legitimate but a power lawfully established is not necessary legitimate since "belief in legality presupposes the legitimacy of the legal order that lays down the law".

Extraits

[...] As John Locke wrote before Rousseau, “where there is no propriety, there is no injury” (Cited by Rousseau himself in his Discours sur l'inégalité parmi les hommes (in Princeton Readings in Political Thought, p307)). Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book chap p52. Hobbes developed a similar idea in the Leviathan writing that since weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, either by secret machination, or by confederacy with others” (equality of ability to kill each other), “there is no way for any man to secure himself” (in Princeton Readings in Political Thought, p207). Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book chap p50. Ibid. [...]

[...] Moreover, the concept of general will on which Rousseau based his theory of legitimacy is largely utopian and cannot be applied to our modern societies. As Rousseau himself said, men do not naturally perceive themselves as a part of a community and therefore hardly know what the common good is[65]. A notion of common interest could only be found when a community is defined, that is to say when men became social: a newly formed people to understand wise principles of politics and to follow the basic rules of statecraft, the effect would have to become the cause”[66]. [...]

[...] Lipka, Xenophon's Spartan Constitution : introduction, text, commentary Berlin; New York: De Gruyter The tensions between these two models of democracy throughout history were brilliantly analyzed by Pierre Rosanvallon in his book entitled La démocratie inachevée (Rosanvallon, La démocratie inachevée- Histoire de la souveraineté du people en France Paris: Gallimard, 2000). Pronounced in February 1819, in the Athénée Royale, Paris. This is even more relevant in our capitalist societies. The Ancients had slaves who took care of their business while they were performing their political duties. [...]

[...] Is this a satisfactory basis on which to ground political legitimacy? In Le Contrat Social, attempting to “consider if, in political society, there can be any legitimate and sure principle of government”[1], Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) took up the problem of legitimacy which has remained a burning issue throughout history, especially today when many talk about global crisis of legitimacy of liberal democracy”[2]. However, before trying to determinate how power may be rendered legitimate, the concept of legitimacy itself should be carefully defined[3]. [...]

[...] At that time, the King of France was perceived as the Father of the people. He enjoyed absolute power he received by God himself. Even if this last assertion may be put to question talking about the previous president of the United States. Indeed, George W. Bush declared for instance when he was elected Governor of Texas: believe that God wants me to become President of the United States”. (Bush's words in Fath, Sébastien, Dieu bénisse l'Amérique. La religion de la Maison-Blanche, Paris: Seuil, 2004). [...]