# Of The Social Contract and Other Political Writings

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- Book: [Of The Social Contract and Other Political Writings](https://www.bookquiver.com/rousseau/of-the-social-contract-and-other-political-writings) ([Of The Social Contract and Other Political Writings.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/rousseau/of-the-social-contract-and-other-political-writings.md))
- Authors: [Jean Jacques Rousseau](https://www.bookquiver.com/rousseau)
- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-01-4193-199-9
- Published: 2012-10-04
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: E-book

## Description

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