Philosophy and Theology

In his seminal work The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau writes, "Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains." This sentence begins Rousseau's influential introduction of the individual as an indivisible member of the general will. This text proposes a system of government that was heavily criticized by Rousseau's contemporaries for its condemnation of the luxuries and consumption of civilized society. The text introduced several notions that were fairly radical at the time, including the assertion that women were included in the general will, and that an equal society could not, by definition, utilize slavery. Paris authorities immediately banned this text. Following The Social Contract are three discourses on the Arts and Sciences, the Origin of Inequality and Political Economy, each of which explore Rousseau's principle philosophical tenets but are not nearly as systematically correct as the The Social Contract. Despite the amount of negative criticism from Rousseau's contemporaries and friends alike, The Social Contract and Discourses have become a cornerstone of Western philosophy, political science and education.