All Formats & Editions

'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... Read Full Overview

"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,... Read Full Overview

"Man was born free, but everywhere he is in chains. This man believes that he is the master of others, and still he is more of a slave than they are. How did that transformation take place? I don't know. How may the restraints on man become legitimate? I do believe I can... Read Full Overview

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (28 June 1712 - 2 July 1778) was a major Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy heavily influenced the French Revolution, as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational... Read Full Overview

This new edition features a revision by Donald A. Cress of his bestselling 1987 translation of On the Social Contract together with Introduction, footnotes, and chronology by David Wootton, one of our leading historians of the Enlightenment.

Revolutionary in its own time and controversial to this day, this work is a permanent classic of political theory and a key source of democratic belief. Rousseau's concepts of "the general will" as a mode of self-interest uniting for a common good, and the submission of the individual... Read Full Overview

The perfect books for the true book lover, Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve more groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers. Each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering... Read Full Overview

Rousseau has suffered as much as any one from critics without a sense of history. He has been cried up and cried down by democrats and oppressors with an equal lack of understanding and imagination. His name, a hundred and fifty years after the publication of the Social Contract,... Read Full Overview

El contrato social, su obra m?s c?lebre, parte de esta idea y transmite un claro mensaje a favor de la libertad. Las conclusiones expuestas en este texto sirvieron de base ideol?gica para los primeros revolucionarios franceses.

El contrato social: o los principios del derecho pol tico, m s conocido como El contrato social, es un libro escrito por Jean-Jacques Rousseau y publicado en 1762. Es una obra sobre filosof a pol tica y trata principalmente sobre la libertad e igualdad de los hombres bajo un... Read Full Overview