Question

Rousseau wrote in The Social Contract, “As soon as any man says of the affairs of the State ‘What does it matter to me?’ the State may be given up for lost.” What do you think he meant? How do you think his words relate to American democracy today?

Answer 1

He meant that we all have to be political and participate in the political process. If the state is allowed to do what it wants and people just say "what does it have to do with me, i don't care", then the state is lost because it will easily become tyrannical. It is important for American democracy today because many young people hate politics and don't care about it, not realizing that it's their lives that are being controlled by the government.