On the Social Contract or. Principles of Political Right, published in 1762, is one of the most important and influential works of political philosophy ever written. In it, Rousseau seeks to explain why, when freedom is the natural state of human beings, they are not in fact free ("Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains"), and to establish the basis for legitimacy in a political community. He argues for a demo- cratic, consensual form of Zovernment founded on the "general will" free of gross inequality and arbitrary rule.
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"Man was born free, but everywhere he is in chains. This man believes that he is the master of others, and still be 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 Contrat 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 leads 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.
Foreword
BOOK I
I. Subject of the First Book
II. The First Societies
III. The Right of the Strongest
IV. Slavery
V. That We Must Always Go Back
to a First Convention
VI. The Social Compact
VII. The Sovereign
VIII. The Civil State
IX. Real Property
BOOK II
I. That Sovereignty Is Inalienable
II. That Sovereignty Is Indivisible
III. Whether the General Will Is Fallible
IV. The Limits of the Sovereign Power
V. The Right of Life and Death
VI. Law
VII. The Legislator
VIII. The People
IX. The People (cont.)
X. The People (cont.)
XI. The Various Systems of Legislation
XII. The Division Of the Laws
BOOK III
I. Government in General
II. The Constituent Principle in
the Various Forms of Government
III. The Division of Governments
IV. Democracy
V. Aristocracy
VI. Monarchy
VII. Mixed Governments
VIII. That All Forms of Government Do Not
Suit M1 Countries
IX. The Marks of a Good Government
X. The Abuse of Government and Its
Tendency to Degenerate
XI. The Death of the Body Politic
XII. How the Sovereign Authority Maintains Itself
XIII. The Same (cont.)
XIV. The Same (cont.)
XV. Deputies or Representatives
XVI. That the Institution of Government
Is Not a Contract
XVII. The Institution of Government
XVIII. How to Check the Usurpations of Government
BOOK IV
I. That the General Will Is Indestructible
II. Voting
III. Elections
IV. The Roman Gomitia
V. The Tribunate
VI. The Dictatorship
VII. The Gensorship
VIII. Givil Religion
IX. Conclusion
