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The Social Contract
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Description
'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 debate since its 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 and Introduced by Maurice Cranston
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These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has not ceased to stir debate since its 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 and Introduced by Maurice Cranston
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Product details
- Paperback | 192 pages
- 129 x 198 x 11mm | 145g
- 31 Jul 2003
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Penguin Classics
- London, United Kingdom
- English
- Reprint
- 0140442014
- 9780140442014
- 61,828
Table of contents
The Social Contract Translator's acknowledgments
Introduction
Foreword
Book I
Book II
Book III
Book IV
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Introduction
Foreword
Book I
Book II
Book III
Book IV
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About Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) the French political philosopher and educationalist, is the author of A Discourse on Inequality, and Emile.
Maurice Cranston was Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics and wrote and published widely on Rousseau, including two volumes of biography.
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Maurice Cranston was Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics and wrote and published widely on Rousseau, including two volumes of biography.
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