On the Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

ISBN 10: 0486426920 / ISBN 13: 9780486426921

Published by Dover Publications (edition Dover Thrift Editions), 2003

About this Item

The item might be beaten up but readable. May contain markings or highlighting, as well as stains, bent corners, or any other major defect, but the text is not obscured in any way.

Seller Inventory # 0486426920-7-1

Bibliographic Details

• Title: On the Social Contract
• Publisher: Dover Publications (edition Dover Thrift Editions)
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0486426920
• ISBN 13: 9780486426921
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: Dover Thrift Editions.
• Condition: Fair

About this title

Synopsis

"Man was born free, but everywhere he is in chains. This man believes that he is the master of others, and still he is more of a slave than they are. How did that transformation take place? I don't know. How may the restraints on man become legitimate? I do believe I can answer that question …"
Thus begins Rousseau's influential 1762 work, Du Contract Social. Arguing that all government is fundamentally flawed, and that modern society is based on a system that fosters inequality and servitude, Rousseau demands nothing less than a complete revision of the social contract to ensure equality and freedom.
Noting that government derives its authority by the people's willing consent (rather than the authorization of God), Rousseau posits that a good government can justify its need for individual compromises, rewarding its citizens with "civil liberty and the proprietorship of all he possesses." The controversial philosopher further suggests that promoting social settings in which people transcend their immediate appetites and desires lead to the development of self-governing, self-disciplined beings.
A milestone of political science, these essays introduced the inflammatory ideas that led to the chaos of the French Revolution, and are considered essential reading for students of history, philosophy, and other social sciences.

About the Author

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712-1778) was one of the most influential thinkers during the Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Europe. His works were, and are, widely read, and he has been firmly established as a significant intellectual figure. His works and ideas influenced several noted philosophers and leaders of the French and American Revolutions.