The Rousseau-Don Miller Connection

So I’m currently reading some works by Jean-Jacques Rousseau for my Social-Political Philosophy class. There are some very interesting things that he talks about. One thing that he writes about made me think of Don Miller and his talk of the life boat.
Rousseau says that man was doing pretty well until he started comparing himself to others and got his assurance from how he stacked up. This is right along the lines of what Miller talks about in his book, “In Search of God Knows What.” Makes me wonder how much Miller has read of Rousseau because the parallels are very apparent.
Rousseau makes a very wonderful comment that I’ll quote:

“Moreover, citizens allow themselves to be oppressed only insofar as they are driven by blind ambition: and looking more below than above them, domination becomes more dear to them than independence, and they consent to wear chains in order to be able to give them in turn to other.”

He’s talking about a political situation but the spiritual ideas that can be pulled from it are great, I think. There’s plenty more I’d love to quote, but I’ll spare you. If you’re interested in an interesting discussion on the origin of sin as the introduction of society, Rousseau’s “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” would be a beneficial read.