'Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains'
These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir debate since its publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or 'social contract', that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power. From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for totalitarianism, to others a declaration of democratic principles.
Translated and Introduced by Maurice Cranston
| ISBN: | 9780140442014 |
| Publication date: | 31st July 2003 |
| Author: | JeanJacques Rousseau, Maurice Cranston |
| Publisher: | Penguin Classics an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 187 pages |
| Series: | Penguin Classics |
| Genres: |
Political science and theory Constitution: government and the state Philosophical traditions and schools of thought |