The Social Contract

"The Social Contract" is one of the three most influential political treatises ever written (the others being Plato's "Republic" and Marx's "Das Kapital"). "The Social Contract" continues to exert a direct influence on contemporary political thought. In it, and in the three "Discourses" printed with it in this book, Rousseau discusses the nature of liberty, human rights and the state; the origins of private property; the function of education; the economic structure of society; and the relationship between individuals and the community. This revised re-issue of G.D.H. Cole's translation includes sections from the first manuscript draft of the text and is accompanied by an introduction, chronology and bibliography prepared by Professor Alan Ryan.