The Social Contract

The Social Contract is a political treatise by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, first published in 1762.

The work examines how individuals can live together under laws while preserving their freedom. Rousseau argues that legitimate political authority must be based on an agreement among free and equal citizens, rather than on force, inheritance, or divine right.

At the center of the book is the concept of the general will, which represents the common good of the community. Citizens remain free when they participate in creating laws that apply equally to everyone and place public interest above private advantage.

The Social Contract explores popular sovereignty, civic responsibility, and the foundations of legitimate government. Its ideas strongly influenced modern democratic thought and later political movements.

"Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they. How did this change come about? I do not know. What can make it legitimate? That question I think I can answer."

This edition is based on the English translation by G. D. H. Cole.