A Discourse on Inequality

Rousseau argues that the advancement of civilization leads to the corruption of natural happiness and freedom, creating artificial inequalities in wealth and power. He posits that primitive man experienced true equality, while societal sophistication grants undue advantages to the strongest and most intelligent. Despite efforts to establish justice through constitutions, these systems often reinforce existing disparities. His political and social critiques serve as a powerful denunciation of the social conditions of his era, marking this work as a revolutionary piece of the eighteenth century.