--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First, because, in the first case, the…" description: "\"“First, because, in the first case, the right of conquest being in fact no right at all, it could not serve as a foundation for any other right, the co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_politics_first-because-in-the-first-case-the-righ_2623046.png" --- # First, because, in the first case, the right of conquest… ![“First, because, in the first case, the right of conquest being in fact no right at all, it could not serve as a foundation for any other right, the conqueror and the conquered ever remaining with respect to each other in a state of war, unless the conquered, restored to the full possession of…” quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_politics_first-because-in-the-first-case-the-righ_2623046.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_politics_first-because-in-the-first-case-the-righ_2623046.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_politics_first-because-in-the-first-case-the-righ_2623046.png) > ““First, because, in the first case, the right of conquest being in fact no right at all, it could not serve as a foundation for any other right, the conqueror and the conquered ever remaining with respect to each other in a state of war, unless the conquered, restored to the full possession of their liberty, should freely choose their conqueror for their chief. Till then, whatever capitulations might have been made between them, as these capitulations were founded upon violence, and of course de facto null and void, there could not have existed in this hypothesis either a true society, or a political body, or any other law but that of the strongest. Second, because these words strong and weak, are ambiguous in the second case; for during the interval between the establishment of the right of property or prior occupation and that of political government, the meaning of these terms is better expressed by the words poor and rich, as before the establishment of laws men in reality had no other means of reducing their equals, but by invading the property of these equals, or by parting with some of their own property to them. Third, because the poor having nothing but their liberty to lose, it would have been the height of madness in them to give up willingly the only blessing they had left without obtaining some consideration for it: whereas the rich being sensible, if I may say so, in every part of their possessions, it was much easier to do them mischief, and therefore more incumbent upon them to guard against it; and because, in fine, it is but reasonable to suppose, that a thing has been invented by him to whom it could be of service rather than by him to whom it must prove detrimental.”” [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rousseau argues that conquest cannot legitimize political authority; true society requires voluntary consent, not violence, and property rights create inherent inequality between rich and poor. **In simple terms:** Violence cannot create legitimate rule; consent and fairness are needed. Key Takeaway Seek voluntary agreements, not coercion. Themes political legitimacy property rights inequality consent violence Mood critical reflective Type philosophical political When to use this quote - colonialism - land disputes - wealth redistribution - civil rights movements Key Concepts social contract natural rights economic disparity Questions to Reflect On - How can societies ensure consent when power is unequal? - What mechanisms protect the poor’s liberty? A Different Perspective Violence may still dominate power structures despite moral arguments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Poor And Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-and-rich/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The right of conquest has no foundation other than the right of the strongest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-rousseau/the-right-of-conquest-has-no-foundation-other-than-the-right-of-the/) [Jean-Baptiste Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-rousseau/) > [“The right of conquest is not a right. A society can be founded only with the consent of its members. If it is destroyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montesquieu/the-right-of-conquest-is-not-a-right-a-society-can-be-founded-only/) [Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montesquieu/) > [Well, it's not just money. 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Till then, whatever capitulations might have been made between them, as these capitulations were founded upon violence, and of course de facto null and void, there could not have existed in this hypothesis either a true society, or a political body, or any other law but that of the strongest. Second, because these words strong and weak, are ambiguous in the second case; for during the interval between the establishment of the right of property or prior occupation and that of political government, the meaning of these terms is better expressed by the words poor and rich, as before the establishment of laws men in reality had no other means of reducing their equals, but by invading the property of these equals, or by parting with some of their own property to them. Third, because the poor having nothing but their liberty to lose, it would have been the height of madness in them to give up willingly the only blessing they had left without obtaining some consideration for it: whereas the rich being sensible, if I may say so, in every part of their possessions, it was much easier to do them mischief, and therefore more incumbent upon them to guard against it; and because, in fine, it is but reasonable to suppose, that a thing has been invented by him to whom it could be of service rather than by him to whom it must prove detrimental.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/first-because-in-the-first-case-the-right-of-conquest-being-in-fact/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Politics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/first-because-in-the-first-case-the-right-of-conquest-being-in-fact/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_politics_first-because-in-the-first-case-the-righ_2623046.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_politics_first-because-in-the-first-case-the-righ_2623046.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/jean-jacques-rousseau-418_politics_first-because-in-the-first-case-the-righ_2623046.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First, because, in the first case, the right of conquest being in fact no right at all, it could not serve…” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jean-Jacques Rousseau", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“First, because, in the first case,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/first-because-in-the-first-case-the-right-of-conquest-being-in-fact/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/first-because-in-the-first-case-the-right-of-conquest-being-in-fact/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```