Political Philosophy

Discourse on Political Economy

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Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1755 · 39 pages

First published in 1755 in Diderot's Encyclopédie, the Discourse on Political Economy is Rousseau's first sustained treatment of the general will — a concept that would become the cornerstone of The Social Contract. Distinguishing carefully between the government of a household and the government of a state, Rousseau argues that political authority must serve the general will of the people, not the private interests of rulers. The essay also addresses taxation, public education, and the conditions under which citizens can be said to be genuinely free under law.