2) Explain why JJR would critique this trend/institution/desire/measure of success/etc. as to why it takes us away from the best in humanity;

Rousseau’s belief was that people were straightforward in their natural state. They were self-sufficient, neither happy nor unhappy, neither moral nor immoral, there was no reason, and they were asocial. He believed that civil society consists of private property, division of labor, laws to protect property rights, unequal resources and inequality, power to few resourceful over resource-less and many social classes, competition, vanity, egoism, jealousness, enmity i.e., living on the opinion of others corrupted the straightforward man who was in his savage form (natural form). Instead of self-love, people started living on the opinion of others and developed ego, passion, desire, jealousy, and enmity, corrupting civilization. He asserted that the conception of a state, based on individual rights and negative freedom is immoral and unjust. This progress from the 'state of nature' of noble savage to civil society made people immoral, corrupted and unjust. This robbed the man of his political and personal liberty. Thus, he criticized this trend, these institutions which lead to corrupting desires and competitive and polluting measure of success. That’s why modern civil society takes us away from the best in humanity.