* Our summary is short, simple and pragmatic. It allows you to have the essential ideas of a big book in less than 30 minutes.
By reading this summary, you will discover what legitimizes political power in a republic.
You will also discover :
that freedom and equality go hand in hand;
how the republic aims at the common good;
that the social contract is the act by which a people becomes a people;
that the government's only function is to satisfy the people;
that popular sovereignty is inalienable, indivisible and limited.
In the second half of the 18th century, Europe was still struggling with absolutist regimes. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher, encyclopedist and friend of Diderot, imagines a society and public institutions where everyone would be free and secure. In 1762, he published The Social Contract or Principles of Political Law: the work instantly became a classic. Both adored and censured, this work formulated the principle of popular sovereignty and served as a model for the draft constitutions of several countries. Will you be able to build a just and legitimate state?
*Buy now the summary of this book for the modest price of a cup of coffee!