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Why did Rousseau place individual rights under the general will?

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The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below. — Political philosophy Diorite stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, 18th century bce.

In Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s political philosophy, individual rights are placed under the general will as part of a fundamental exchange: individuals surrender their "natural liberty"—which is limited by their own personal might—in return for "civil liberty," which is protected by the collective force of the community.12

Rousseau argued that this transition is not a loss of freedom but a transformation into a higher form of autonomy. By aligning their personal interests with the common good, citizens participate in a social contract where they obey laws they have prescribed for themselves as members of the sovereign body. In this framework, the state is viewed as a moral person, and laws are legitimate only when they express the general will.123

When an individual acts against the law, they are acting against their own higher interest as a citizen. Consequently, Rousseau famously suggested that forcing such an individual to obey the law is "forcing him to be free," as it restores them to an awareness of the general will that exists within them.32