Cover of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Ebook The Social Contract
Ebook · Sovereign

The Social Contract

Author
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Series
World Classics
Language
English
Length
268 pages
ISBN
9781911495741
Published
9 August 2016
Imprint
Sovereign
  • political philosophy
  • sovereignty
  • general will
  • collective agreement
  • liberty
  • equality
  • democracy
  • revolutionary movements
  • modern political thought
  • traditional monarchy

All titles

Description

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's "The Social Contract" is a cornerstone of political philosophy, proposing that true sovereignty lies not with rulers, but in the general will of the people. Rousseau argues for a society where individuals enter into a collective agreement to create a government that reflects the common good, challenging the foundations of the traditional monarchy. His ideas on liberty, equality, and democracy have inspired revolutionary movements, making this work a seminal text in shaping modern political thought.

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) made feeling a political fact. Genevan philosopher, novelist, and composer, he wrote the Discourses, The Social Contract, and Emile — books that helped shape the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and modern ideas of education and the self. Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains: the sentence still startles because it is both diagnosis and dare.

More by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Other editions