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.
The Logos edition of this volume is fully indexed and tagged, allowing for near-instant search results. This volume links to the other books in your Logos library, allowing you to cross-reference with a click. Near-instant searches allow you to jump to important sections in Rousseau’s work.