A Discourse On Inequality by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
On the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men
This work argues that while humans in a hypothetical natural state possess only minor physical differences, most social inequality arises later through the institution of private property, social conventions, and political authority; as people form sedentary societies, they exchange independence and compassion for vanity, dependence and competition, and law and government come to legitimize and deepen moral and political inequalities. Tracing a historical progression from simple self-preserving beings guided by pity to complex civilizations marked by inequality and domination, the text critiques the origins of social hierarchies and challenges the moral legitimacy of existing social arrangements, suggesting that many inequalities are neither natural nor inevitable but products of human institutions.
- Published
- 1755
- Nationality
- Genevan
- Length
- Very Short
- Pages
- 60-120 pages
- Original Language
- French
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- Alternate Titles
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- Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes
- Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men
- Discourse on the Origin of Inequality
- Second Discourse
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