''Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains.''
These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has stirred vigorous debate ever since its first 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 powerFrom 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 by Quintin Hoare
With a new introduction by Christopher Bertram
| Format |
Häftad |
| Omfång |
400 sidor |
| Språk |
Engelska |
| Förlag |
Penguin Books Ltd |
| Utgivningsdatum |
2012-10-04 |
| ISBN |
9780141191751 |
