The Social Contract is a 1762 work of political philosophy by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. As a follow-up to his Discourse on Inequality, which examined the sources of inequality and suffering occurring in civilized society, here Rousseau examines the question of what government bests allow people to live in freedom and harmony. Rousseau argues that a social contract, individuals' free submission to certain rules and societal compromises, must be the basis of any political system. Examining various governments, Rousseau argues that small city-states governed by an elected aristocracy allow the most freedom.
A Discourse on Inequality is a 1754 philosophical essay by Jean-Jacques Rousseau that examines the source of political and ethical inequality within society. After disregarding natural, or physical, inequality, Rousseau examines the transition from his idealized "natural man," living alone, balancing self-love with compassion, to the corrupt societal man, constantly suffering, living for and under the judgments of others. According to Rousseau, the division of land into private property was the original sin of society, allowing for the powerful to continually exploit the weak through social conventions and laws.