Of The Social Contract and Other Political Writings

Jean-Jacques Rousseau author Quintin Hoare translator Christopher Bertram editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd

Published:4th Oct '12

£10.99

Available for immediate dispatch.

Of The Social Contract and Other Political Writings cover

Since its first publication in 1762, Of the Social Contract has shaped political thinking. Viewed by some as a revolutionary statement of democratic freedoms and by others as a precursor of tyranny, it has guided and inspired activists from the

Considers the 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.

'Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains.'

These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has stirred vigorous debate ever 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.

Translated by Quintin Hoare
With a new introduction by Christopher Bertram

ISBN: 9780141191751

Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 22mm

Weight: 292g

400 pages