The Social Contract (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140442014 ISBN 13: 9780140442014

Publisher: Penguin, 1968

Synopsis

'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 vigorous debate since its first 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.

About this title

Review:

Great Ideas... is the right name for these slim, elegant paperbacks... They are written with precision, force, and care. ("The Wall Street Journal") Penguin Books hopes to provide an economical remedy for time-pressed readers in search of intellectual sustenance. ("USA Today")

From the Author:

The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The social contract came to me when I was fairly young, living in Geneva. It is unlike a convential book, which may take a few years to write, in that that it was in the making throughout my entire life.
If you find some of the ideas are not to your liking, then I make no excuse for them. They are my own so I cannot disown them. We can do only that which we think to be right.
The Social Contract lays out my view of soceity, and how I feel it should be

Jean Jacques Rousseau,

17th April 2004

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1968
• ISBN 10: 0140442014
• ISBN 13: 9780140442014
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192