Du Contrat Social ou Principes du droit politique, published in 1762, is Jean-Jacques Rousseau's most influential work of political philosophy. In it, Rousseau theorizes about the best way to establish a political community in the face of the problems of commercial society. Rousseau claimed that the state of nature was a primitive condition without law or morality, which humans left for the benefits and necessity of cooperation. By joining together through the social contract and abandoning their claims of natural right, individuals can both preserve themselves and remain free. This edition also includes his Considà (c)rations sur le gouvernement de Pologne.
Rousseau's work has profoundly influenced political thought and served as an intellectual foundation for both the French and American revolutions. His ideas about popular sovereignty and the general will continue to resonate in contemporary debates about democracy and social justice.
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