Why did Jean-Jacques Rousseau think a lawgiver was needed to help establish a republic?

In his work The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau argues that while the general will is always morally sound, it is not always well-informed. Because he believed that the majority of the population may lack the necessary intelligence to discern the best laws for the common interest, he proposed the need for a lawgiver.1

Rousseau envisioned the lawgiver as a figure of exceptional intellect—citing historical examples such as Solon, Lycurgus, and John Calvin—tasked with drafting a constitution and a system of laws. To ensure these laws are accepted by the public, Rousseau suggested that the lawgiver might even need to claim divine inspiration to persuade the multitude to endorse the proposed framework. This approach reflects his concern that a society requires guidance to translate the abstract general will into a functional, just legal structure.1