Product Description

In his Discourses (1755), Rousseau argues that inequalities of rank, wealth, and power are the inevitable result of the civilizing process. If inequality is intolerable - and Rousseau shows with unparalledled eloquence how it robs us not only of our material but also of our psychological independence - then how can we recover the peaceful self-sufficiency of life in the state of nature? We cannot return to a simpler time, but measuring the costs of progress may help us to imagine alternatives to the corruption and oppressive conformity of modern society. Rousseau's sweeping account of humanity's social and political development epitomizes the innovative boldness of the Englightment, and it is one of the most provocative and influential works of the eighteenth century. This new translation includes all Rousseau's own notes, and Patrick Coleman's introduction builds on recent key scholarship, considering particularly the relationship between political and aesthetic thought.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34861 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

About the Author
Franklin Philip is the prize-winning translator of numerous French texts. Patrick Coleman is the author of Rousseau's Political Imagination (1984).

Customer Reviews

A lucid and engaging thesis on the origins of inequality
Any suggestion that Rousseau is simply proffering a series of trite ideas is misplaced. Though largely ignored by comparison with The Social Contract, A Discourse on Inequality is in my opinion Rousseau's magnum opus. Rousseau's emphasis on the benefits of a culture based around philistinism - as seen in the less well-written Discourse on the Arts and Sciences - is clearly evident in his conception of 'savage' or 'natural' man (depending on edition) who sacrificed his asocial hunter-gatherer existence for life in society. The deleterious consequences of man's socialisation described by Rousseau are both polemical and compelling. Moreover, the effect, which the text had upon the ideas of both Marx and Engles, is perhaps ostensible in sentences such as: `The first man who, having fenced off a plot of land, thought of saying "This is mine" and found people simple enough to believe him was the real founder of civil society'.

Masterpiece
Having read a vast amount of political literature during my politics degree there is only one book that really stands out from the rest. It is this book, 'discourse on the origin of inequality'. It is an intriguing read with some very thought provoking stuff. I think if you were to read any of Rousseau it should be this book. In response to the review where they say he states the obvious, he may well do but it is the way he writes that really gets you thinking. You must also remember the time he was writing, many of these things that we think are obvious were not in the 1700's!