The Social Contract (Penguin Books for Philosophy)

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques

ISBN 10: 0140442014 / ISBN 13: 9780140442014

Published by Penguin Classics, 1968

Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00099432281

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 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

About the Author:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) the French political philosopher and educationalist, is the author of A Discourse on Inequality, and Emile.
Maurice Cranston was Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics and wrote and published widely on Rousseau, including two volumes of biography.

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Social Contract (Penguin Books for ...
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Publication Date: 1968
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Very Good