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The Social Contract » (Reprint)

Book cover image of The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Authors: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maurice Cranston
ISBN-13: 9780140442014, ISBN-10: 0140442014
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Date Published: June 1968
Edition: Reprint

Author Biography: Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Book Synopsis

Revolutionary in its own time and controversial to this day, this work is a permanent classic of political theory and a key source of democratic belief. Rousseau's concepts of "the general will" as a mode of self-interest uniting for a common good, and the submission of the individual to government by contract inform the heart of democracy, and stand as its most contentious components today. Also included in this edition is Rousseau's Discourse on Political Economy", a key transitional work between his Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract. This new translation offers fresh insight into a cornerstone of political thought, which is further illuminated by a comprehensive introduction and notes.

	Foreword	11
Book I
I	Subject of the First Book	14
II	The First Societies	14
III	The Right of the Strongest	16
IV	Slavery	17
V	That We Must Always Go Back to a First Convention	21
VI	The Social Contract	22
VII	The Sovereign	24
VIII	The Civil State	26
IX	Real Property	28
Book II
I	That Sovereignty Is Inalienable	31
II	That Sovereignty Is Indivisible	32
III	Whether the General Will Is Fallible	34
IV	The Limits of the Sovereign Power	36
V	The Right of Life and Death	39
VI	Law	41
VII	The Legislator	44
VIII	The People	48
IX	The People (cont.)	50
X	The People (cont.)	52
XI	The Various Systems of Legislation	55
XII	The Division of the Laws	57
Book III
I	Government in General	59
II	The Constituent Principle in the Various Forms of Government	64
III	The Division of Governments	67
IV	Democracy	68
V	Aristocracy	70
VI	Monarchy	73
VII	Mixed Governments	78
VIII	That All Forms of Government Do Not Suit All Countries	79
IX	The Marks of a Good Government	84
X	The Abuse of Government and Its Tendency to Degenerate	85
XI	The Death of the Body Politic	88
XII	How a Sovereign Authority Maintains Itself	89
XIII	How a Sovereign Authority Maintains Itself (cont.)	90
XIV	How a Sovereign Authority Maintains Itself (cont.)	92
XV	Deputies or Representatives	93
XVI	That the Institution of Government Is Not a Contract	97
XVII	The Institution of Government	98
XVIII	How to Check the Usurpations of Government	99
Book IV
I	That the General Will Is Destructible	103
II	Voting	105
III	Elections	108
IV	The Roman Comitia	110
V	The Tribunate	120
VI	The Dictatorship	122
VII	The Censorship	125
VIII	Civil Religion	126
IX	Conclusion	137

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The Social Contract » (Reprint)

Author Biography: Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Book Synopsis

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