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Eugene J. Roesch's 1963 book, The Totalitarian Threat: The Fruition of Modern Individualism, as Seen in Hobbes and Rousseau, argues that modern totalitarianism is not a rejection of early liberal individualism, but its logical outcome. Father Ernest Fortin similarly critiques modern rights-based social justice, seeing it as a departure from classical natural law.From Hobbes Individualism to Rousseau’s General WillRoesch connects the two thinkers through the evolution of the social contract:Hobbes's Atomized Individual: Thomas Hobbes starts with isolated, self-interested individuals in a state of nature driven by fear and competition. To survive, they surrender all individual power to an absolute sovereign.Rousseau’s Collective Subject: Jean-Jacques Rousseau tries to preserve individual freedom through the general will. However, Roesch argues that Rousseau demands a total surrender of the individual to the collective community.The Totalitarian Pivot: Because the collective body defines the general will—and dissent is treated as mere error against that collective—Rousseau's radical autonomy morphs seamlessly into absolute state control, effectively realizing the totalitarian threat latent in Hobbes's Leviathan.Connection to Fr. Ernest Fortin’s View on Social JusticeFather Ernest Fortin’s critique of modern political thought parallels Roesch's concerns from a classical/Augustinian perspective:The Invention of Rights: Fortin argued that modern human rights and contemporary social justice theories originate with Hobbes and the modern project. They discard the classical and medieval view that humans have a natural, God-given moral end (telos).Procedural Justice vs. Virtue: Modern social justice, rooted in this individualist lineage, focuses on legal mechanics and the redistribution or assertion of individual claims rather than the cultivation of human virtue and the true common good.The Secular Erosion: Fortin viewed modern rights talk as unstable—frequently collapsing either into hyper-individualism or into a collective tyranny where the state defines what is "just" for everyone, echoing the exact trajectory Roesch maps from Hobbes to Rousseau.

Eugene J. Roesch's 1963 book, The Totalitarian Threat: The Fruition of Modern Individualism, as Seen in Hobbes and Rousseau, argues that modern totalitarianism is not a rejection of early liberal individualism, but its logical outcome. Father Ernest Fortin similarly critiques modern rights-based social justice, seeing it as a departure from classical natural law. [1, 2, 3]
From Hobbes Individualism to Rousseau’s General Will
Roesch connects the two thinkers through the evolution of the social contract:
  • Hobbes's Atomized Individual: Thomas Hobbes starts with isolated, self-interested individuals in a state of nature driven by fear and competition. To survive, they surrender all individual power to an absolute sovereign. [1, 2, 3]
  • Rousseau’s Collective Subject: Jean-Jacques Rousseau tries to preserve individual freedom through the general will. However, Roesch argues that Rousseau demands a total surrender of the individual to the collective community. [1, 2]
  • The Totalitarian Pivot: Because the collective body defines the general will—and dissent is treated as mere error against that collective—Rousseau's radical autonomy morphs seamlessly into absolute state control, effectively realizing the totalitarian threat latent in Hobbes's Leviathan. [, 2, 3]
Connection to Fr. Ernest Fortin’s View on Social Justice
Father Ernest Fortin’s critique of modern political thought parallels Roesch's concerns from a classical/Augustinian perspective:
  • The Invention of Rights: Fortin argued that modern human rights and contemporary social justice theories originate with Hobbes and the modern project. They discard the classical and medieval view that humans have a natural, God-given moral end (telos). [1, 2]
  • Procedural Justice vs. Virtue: Modern social justice, rooted in this individualist lineage, focuses on legal mechanics and the redistribution or assertion of individual claims rather than the cultivation of human virtue and the true common good. [1, 2, 3]
  • The Secular Erosion: Fortin viewed modern rights talk as unstable—frequently collapsing either into hyper-individualism or into a collective tyranny where the state defines what is "just" for everyone, echoing the exact trajectory Roesch maps from Hobbes to Rousseau. [1, 2]

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