Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Du Contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique [The Social Contract]

Kevin Inston (University College London)
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Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote the

Social Contract

(1762) in a period of great intellectual and social change. The beginning of the century was marked by the reign of Louis XIV, the model of the absolute, autocratic monarch and the end (ten years after Rousseau’s death) by the unprecedented event of the French Revolution of 1789, which caused the demise of the French monarchy and the rise of democracy as sovereign power became identified with the will of the people. Rousseau’s work forms part of the socially critical and progressivist literature which we now call Enlightenment writing. Enlightenment writing, published under and against the

Ancien régime

, could not of itself have produced revolutionary change, but did help foster the egalitarian sensibilities, attitudes, and values…

3435 words

Citation: Inston, Kevin . "Du Contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 September 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5484, accessed 29 March 2024.]

5484 Du Contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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