The Social Contract (Penguin Classics)

Description

*The Social Contract*, originally published as *On the Social Contract; or, Principles of Political Right* (French: *Du contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique*), is a 1762 French-language book by the Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The book theorizes about the best way to establish a political community in the face of the problems of commercial society, which Rousseau had already identified in his *Discourse on Inequality* (1755). *The Social Contract* helped inspire political reforms or revolutions in Europe, especially in France. *The Social Contract* argued against the idea that monarchs were divinely empowered to legislate. Rousseau asserts that only the people, who are sovereign, have that all-powerful right. (Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_Contract))

First Sentence

MAN was born free, and he is everywhere in chains.

Subjects

Other Editions

• The Social Contract (Penguin Classics)Penguin Classics1968-06-30
• Principes du droit politiqueChez Marc-Michel Rey1762-01-01
• Du contrat socialM.-M. Rey1762-01-01
• Contrat socialGarnier1800-01-01
• Du contrat socialE. Flammarion1909-01-01
• The social contractJ.M. Dent1913-01-01