"The general will rules in society as the private will governs each separate individual"

Maximilien Robespierre draws a parallel between the way society is governed and the way an individual governs themselves, suggesting a deep connection between personal autonomy and collective governance. Each person is directed by an internal private will, a set of desires, interests, and judgments that guide choices and actions. Just as individuals act according to their sense of self and what they perceive as good or beneficial, society as a collective is steered by what Robespierre calls the “general will.”

The general will, a concept rooted in Rousseau's philosophy, refers not to the sum of individual desires but to the common interest or collective good that transcends personal preferences. In Robespierre’s revolutionary context, this idea becomes the foundation of legitimate political authority. The analogy implies that while individuals remain subjects to their own private reasoning and inclinations, society, as an entity, should be subject to a will that represents the common welfare of all its members.

This formulation challenges both absolute monarchy and unchecked individualism. It asserts that societal decisions are not the arbitrary imposition of rulers or the chaotic result of competing egos. Instead, they emerge from the articulation and realization of shared principles, shaped by reason and oriented toward justice. The structure and cohesion of a just society depend on this collective will being sovereign, just as the coherence and integrity of a person depend on the dominance of their private will over impulses or external influence.

By equating the role of the general will in society to the role of the private will in individuals, Robespierre underscores the importance of collective self-determination. Individuals, through participation and alignment with the general will, attain freedom not as unrestrained license, but as engagement with laws and institutions they have a stake in creating. Society flourishes, then, not in spite of submission to the general will, but precisely because this will expresses the shared rational interest that binds its members together.