The Social Contract

The Social Contract (1762) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau argues that legitimate political authority comes not from force or divine right, but from a social contract agreed upon by free individuals. Rousseau proposes that people unite to form a collective body politic and submit their individual wills to the general will, which represents the common good. True freedom, he claims, is found in obeying laws one has prescribed for oneself through this collective will. The book explores sovereignty, law, and government, emphasizing popular sovereignty and equality as the foundation of a just state.