A philosophical discourse by Jean-Jacques Rousseau on how inequality arose among humans. It contrasts an imagined early state of nature with developed societies and examines how private property and social arrangements shape human relations. A foundational text for modern political thought, it invites reflection on equality, freedom, and civilization.
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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
A Discourse Upon The Origin And The Foundation Of The
Inequality Among
Mankind
By J. J. Rousseau
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Jean Jacques Rousseau was born at Geneva, June 28, 1712, the son of a watchmaker of French origin. His education was irregular, and though he tried many professions—including engraving, music, and teaching—he found it difficult to support himself in any of them. The discovery of his talent as a writer came with the winning of a prize offered by the Academy of Dijon for a discourse on the question,
"Whether the progress of the sciences and of letters has tended to corrupt or to elevate morals." He argued so brilliantly that the tendency of civilization was degrading that he became at once famous. The discourse here printed on the causes of inequality among men was written in a similar competition.
He now concentrated his powers upon literature, producing two novels, "La Nouvelle Heloise," the forerunner and parent of endless sentimental and picturesque fictions; and "Emile, ou l'Education," a work which has had enormous influence on the theory and practise of pedagogy down to our own time and in which the Savoyard Vicar appears, who is used as the mouthpiece for Rousseau's own religious ideas. "Le Contrat Social" (1762) elaborated the doctrine of the discourse on inequality. Both historically and philosophically it is
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