The Social Contract
Overview
In The Social Contract, Rousseau tries to tackle the problem of inequality he identified in the Discourse on Inequality. Rousseau argues that “man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Rousseau argues that this is because in most societies, the sovereign ruler acts of his own will with both the law and the population beneath him. Rousseau’s solution is the concept of the general will. He proposes a sort of direct democracy in which the population assembles and approves or disapproves of various laws. When the general will of the people supports something, it has the force of law and the authority to require obedience of the people. When that is not the case, says Rousseau, it is not a law at all.
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- Expounds upon the problem of inequality stated in Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality
- Proposes the idea of direct democracy through “general will”
- Includes three separate discourses on other topics
- The Social Contract
- A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences
- A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
- A Discourse on Political Economy
- Title: The Social Contract & Discourses
- Author: Jean Jacques Rousseau
- Series: Everyman’s Library: Philosophy and Theology
- Publishers: E. P. Dutton & Co., J. M. Dent & Company
- Print Publication Date: 1913
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Pages: 287
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Social contract; Political science › Early works to 1800; Economics
- Resource ID: LLS:SCLCNTRCTROUSSEAU
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:49:40Z