<P> Rousseau's political theory differs in important ways from that of Locke and Hobbes . Rousseau's collectivism is most evident in his development of the "luminous conception" (which he credited to Denis Diderot) of the general will . Rousseau argues a citizen cannot pursue his true interest by being an egoist but must instead subordinate himself to the law created by the citizenry acting as a collective . </P> <P> (The social contract) can be reduced to the following terms: Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will; and in a body we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole . </P> <P> Rousseau's striking phrase that man must "be forced to be free" should be understood this way: since the indivisible and inalienable popular sovereignty decides what is good for the whole, then if an individual lapses back into his ordinary egoism and disobeys the law, he will be forced to listen to what was decided when the people acted as a collectivity (as citizens). Thus, the law, inasmuch as it is created by the people acting as a body, is not a limitation of individual freedom, but rather its expression . </P> <P> Thus, enforcement of laws, including criminal law, is not a restriction on individual liberty: the individual, as a citizen, explicitly agreed to be constrained if, as a private individual, he did not respect his own will as formulated in the general will . Because laws represent the restraints of civil freedom, they represent the leap made from humans in the state of nature into civil society . In this sense, the law is a civilizing force, and therefore Rousseau believed that the laws that govern a people helped to mold their character . </P>

Who was credited with the original idea of the social security act