The Social Contract

The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762)

"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains." Rousseau's radical argument that legitimate political authority must rest on the "general will" of the people — the philosophical dynamite that helped ignite the French Revolution.

Historical Significance:
Published in 1762, The Social Contract was immediately banned in France and Geneva. Rousseau argued that sovereignty belongs to the people, not to kings — a revolutionary idea that influenced the French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) and the American Constitution. Robespierre carried a copy; Napoleon claimed to have read it. The book's concept of the "general will" has been both celebrated as the foundation of democracy and criticized as a justification for totalitarianism. It remains one of the most debated texts in political philosophy.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1762. Free to read and share.