Rousseau: Self, Freedom and Education · Episode 2 of 3
A reading route for the Beyond the Text Rousseau series with Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson.
The question for this episode
Bring the origins of unequal dependence into conversation with the demand for legitimate government. Our reading route moves from property in the Discourse on Inequality to association, civic freedom and the general will in The Social Contract. Distinguish a common interest from the wishes of a ruler or a collection of private advantages.
Read alongside us
Discourse on Inequality, Part II, opening account of property; The Social Contract, I.6-8 and II.1-3.
Follow the conversation
Episode two, Can Society Make Us Free Again?, is available now through the audio and video links above. Read the companion article and join the shared Rousseau discussion below. Episode three is planned for Friday 16 October 2026 at 10pm UK time.
A question to discuss
What would distinguish a law serving a common interest from a majority imposing its preferences?
Image: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Du contrat social, title page, 1762. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Source and image details.
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