Rousseau’s two works (The Social Contract and Discourse on the Origin of Inequality) have profoundly affected the leaders of both the French and American Revolutions, as well as Marx and his followers. Today they remain essential to an understanding of the principles underlying democratic and human institutions and the social behavior of man.
Edited and with an Introduction by Lester G. Crocker
About the Author
Born in 1712 in Geneva, Jean-Jacques Rousseau came to Paris in 1741. There he won lasting recognition for his ideas, his literary art, and for the legend that soon surrounded him. Despite enemies and persecutions, he became one of the most influential political theorists of all time.