Editing General will (section)

{{short description|Term in political philosophy}}
{{original synthesis|date=May 2025}}
[[File:Jean-Jacques Rousseau (painted portrait).jpg|thumb|upright|Jean-Jacques Rousseau, populariser of the idea of the general will]]

In [[political philosophy]], the '''general will''' ({{langx|fr|volonté générale}}) is the [[will (philosophy)|will]] of the people as a whole. The term was made famous by 18th-century Genevan philosopher [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]. It can be considered as an early, informal predecessor to the idea of a [[social welfare function]] in [[social choice theory]].