Major Works

• Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (Second Discourse)

  - Recommended translation: Second Discourse, in Rousseau: The Discourses and other early political writings, ed. and trans. by Victor Gourevitch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 111-222. First published in 1754.
  Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality, also referred to as the Second Discourse, was published in 1755 in response to an essay competition held by the Academy of Dijon on the question of what was the “the origin of inequality among men” and whether… More

Commentary

• [Book] Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Moralist

  - C.W. Hendel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Moralist (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merril, 1934).
  Excerpt: Late in the manhood of Rousseau the moralist was born. Ordinary men who mature under parental care and acquire their moral principles through the slow and unconscious processes of habit scarcely know such discovery of themselves as moral beings. But… More

• Rousseau the Pessimistic Evolutionist

  - Bertrand de Jouvenel, “Rousseau the Pessimistic Evolutionist,” Yale French Studies, No. 28, (1961), pp.83-96.
  Scanned excerpt: Rousseau had a profound impact upon the way of life of the late XVIIIth century: thanks to him many parents became aware of and  attentive to their  children; he fostered enjoyment of natural beauties and contributed to a change in the… More

• Popular Sovereignty but Representative Government: The Other Rousseau

  - Frank Marini, “Popular sovereignty but representative government: the other Rousseau”, Midwest Journal of Political Science, Vol. 11, No. 4, (1967), pp. 451-70
  Excerpt: In recent years a debate over the status of classical theories of democracy seems to be shaping up. If classical theories of democracy are in for increased discussion and debate, Rousseau’s name almost certainly will figure prominently in the… More

• The Political Philosophy of Rousseau

  - Roger Masters, The Political Philosophy of Rousseau. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968).
  From the publisher: Masters writes in his introduction about the unity of Rousseau’s works: Man is naturally good but it is society that depraves. That is one way to characterize Rousseau’s thought. Man is motivated by two forces. One is… More

• The Evolution of Rousseau’s View of Representative Government

  - Richard Fralin, “The evolution of Rousseau’s view of representative government”, Political Theory, Vol. 6, No. 4, (1978), pp. 517-36.
  Excerpt: Rousseau’s intense opposition to representative  government  in the Contrat  social is one of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  his political  thought.  None of  the  leading  political  thinkers  among  his … More

• The General Will Before Rousseau

  -
  Patrick Riley, "The General Will before Rousseau," Political Theory , Vol. 6, No. 4, (Nov., 1978), pp. 485-516.
  Excerpt: No one has ever doubted that the notion of the “general  will” (volonte  generale) is central  in Rousseau’s political  and moral  philosophy;  Rousseau himself  says that “the general will is always  right,”-… More

• Rousseau and Representation

  - Richard Fralin, Rousseau and Representation (New York: Columbia University Press, 1978).
  From the publisher: In an illuminating and detailed study on Rousseau and Representation, Richard Fralin argues that Rousseau’s commitment to democratic principles and politics is not as strong as it appears on the surface of the Social Contract.  Fralin… More

• Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx: Politics and History

  - Louis Althusser, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Marx: Politics and History (London: Verso, 1982).
  From the publisher: In the first two essays of this book, Louis Althusser analyses the work of two of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment – Montesquieu and Rousseau. He shows that although they made considerable advances towards establishing a… More

• Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau’s Social Theory

  - Judith Shklar, Men and Citizens: A Study of Rousseau's Social Theory (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).
  From the publisher: This book, first published in 1969, is widely regarded as one of the best studies of Rousseau’s thought in any language. In it, Professor Shklar examines Rousseau’s central concern: given that modern civilisation is intolerable… More

• ‘To Persuade without Convincing’: The Language of Rousseau’s Legislator

  - Christopher Kelly, “‘To Persuade without Convincing’: The Language of Rousseau's Legislator,” American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 31, No. 2, 1987.
  Excerpt: Critics have long noted the paradoxical nature of Rousseau’s appeal to a solitary lawgiver within a social contract theory based on equality and consent. However, far from representing a compromise of the principles of equality and consent, the… More

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  - Allan Bloom, “Jean-Jacques Rousseau,” in History of Political Philosophy, edited by Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987) pp.533-553.    
  Excerpt: Rousseau begins the Social Contract with the celebrated words: “Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains. . . . How did this change come to pass? I do not know. What can make it legitimate? I believe I can resolve this question.” With… More

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the ‘Well-ordered Society’

  - Maurizio Viroli, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the ‘Well-ordered Society’ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988).
  From the publisher: This book studies a central but hitherto neglected aspect of Rousseau’s political thought: the concept of social order and its implications for the ideal society which he envisages. The antithesis between order and disorder is a… More

• Rousseau’s Response to Hobbes

  - Rousseau's Response to Hobbes, edited by Howard R. Cell and James I. MacAdam (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1988).
  From the publisher: A collection of critical essays by two different authors but with one common purpose: to consider the response of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to the challenges posed in the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. Specifically, we discuss the… More

• The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau

  - Ernst Cassirer, The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau; edited by Peter Gay (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989).
  Excerpt: I shall speak of the question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.  Yet the very formulation of this topic implies a certain assumption—the assumption that Rousseau’s personality and world of ideas have not been reduced to a mere historical fact that… More

• Rousseau: An Introduction to His Psychological, Social and Political Theory

  - N.J.H Dent, Rousseau: An Introduction to his Psychological, Social and Political Theory (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988).
  From the publisher: Dent argues that Rousseau’s political ideas are the natural outgrowth of other interests and not simply the point to which all his other work tended. He shows how Rousseau’s ideas concerning the sense of a common life and the… More

• Rousseau: The Turning Point

  - Allan Bloom, “Rousseau: The Turning Point”, in Confronting the Constitution: the challenge to Locke, Montesquieu, Jefferson, and theFederalists from utilitarianism, historicism, Marxism, Freudianism, pragmatism, existentialism..., edited by Allan Bloom and Steven Kautz. (Washington, DC: AEI Press Volume 496, 1990).
  From the publisher: The 17 essays in this volume examine first the precepts of the Founding Fathers and their mentors. Then the most significant preconstitutional ideas are outlined, together with analyses of how they harmonize with the Constitution and how… More

• The Theodicy of the Second Discourse: The ‘Pure State of Nature’ and Rousseau’s Political Thought

  - John T. Scott, “The Theodicy of the Second Discourse: The ‘Pure State of Nature’ and Rousseau's Political Thought,” American Political Science Review Vol. 86. No. 3, Sept. 1992.
  Excerpt: Since Rousseau, and perhaps because of him, political theory has often been characterized by a disjunction between considerations of human nature and questions of justice and law. Yet, reexamining the Second Discourse as a theodicy forces us to… More

• A Rousseau Dictionary

  - N.J.H. Dent, A Rousseau Dictionary (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992).
  From the publisher: The social, educational and political writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau have become enormously influential in the 200 years since his death. But the breadth as well as the depth of Rousseau’s achievement – he was amongst other… More

• Freedom, Dependence, and the General Will

  -
  Frederick Neuhouser, Freedom, Dependence, and the General Will
  The Philosophical Review, Vol. 102, No. 3 (Jul., 1993), pp. 363-395.
  Excerpt: In his  Lectures  on the  History  of  Philosophy  Hegel credits  Rousseau  with an epoch-making innovation in the realm of practical  philosophy,  an innovation  said to consist  in the fact  that Rousseau  is the first  thinker  to… More

• Making Citizens: Rousseau’s Political Theory of Culture

  - Zev M. Trachtenberg, Making Citizens: Rousseau’s Political Theory of Culture (London: Routledge: 1993).
  From the publisher: By analysing Rousseau’s conception of the general will, Zev Trachtenberg characterises the attitude of civic virtue Rousseau believes individuals must have to cooperate successfully in society. Rousseau holds that culture affects… More

• Rousseau’s Civil Religion Reconsidered

  - Terence Ball, “Rousseau's Civil Religion Reconsidered,” in Reappraising Political Theory: Revisionist Studies in the History of Political Thought (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
  Excerpt: I ask and attempt to answer three questions. First, what role or place does Rousseau’s scheme for a civil religion occupy in his political theory? Second, what were Rousseau’s intentions—i.e. what was he attempting to do—in devising… More

• Rousseau and Liberty

  - Rousseau and Liberty, edited by Robert Wokler (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995).
  From the publisher: Rousseau is considered to be at once the most modern political thinker of the 18th century and the most ancient in his allegiance to classical republicanism. These essays address the place of liberty in his moral and political philosophy,… More

• The Force of Freedom: Rousseau on Forcing to be Free

  - Steven G. Affeldt, “The force of freedom: Rousseau on forcing to be free”, Political Theory, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jun., 1999), pp. 299-333.
  Excerpt: In this article I develop an interpretation  of the point and nature  of this  engagement of the social compact. While my concerns are in the first  instance  exegetical, I am also more generally  concerned  to address,  through … More

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Friend of Virtue

  - Joseph R. Reisert, Jean-Jacques Rousseau: A Friend of Virtue (Cornell University Press, 2003).
  From the publisher: Scholars have long debated the contribution Rousseau has made to political thought. Is he a theorist of radical individualism, a reactionary advocate for authoritarianism, or just a brilliantly paradoxical but ultimately incoherent… More

• An Essay on Rousseau’s Politics

  - Bertrand de Jouvenal, "An Essay on Rousseau’s Politics" in Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Critical Assessments of Leading Political Philosophers (Volume I), edited by John T. Scott (London: Routledge, 2006). pp. 79-140.
  Excerpt: Here we have the author who was the most praised, the most cursed, and the one who has exercised the greatest influence on the development of political beliefs and institutions.  Yet he is not a political writer.  Take a look at his oeuvre: those… More