A Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

11136

Title

A Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's seminal essay challenges the notion that civilization elevates humanity, arguing instead that the progress of sciences and arts has corrupted morals. Through a hypothetical state of nature, he traces the origin of inequality from the invention of private property to the rise of despotism, offering a profound critique of social institutions and the human condition.

Summary up to 500 words

In his seminal work, *A Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind*, Jean-Jacques Rousseau investigates the roots of social disparity, distinguishing between natural physical differences and moral inequalities established by human convention. Rousseau posits that in a primitive state of nature, humans were solitary, self-sufficient, and free, possessing only basic needs and instincts. They lived without fixed residence, industry, or speech, finding satisfaction in simple repose and liberty. In this condition, the strong could not enslave the weak because no mutual dependence existed; one could easily flee or avoid another without needing their assistance. Rousseau argues that the development of industry, the invention of private property, and the establishment of laws transformed this peaceful existence into a state of conflict and oppression. He identifies the first man to claim land as his own as the true founder of civil society. This act of enclosure, accepted by simple-minded contemporaries, initiated a chain of events leading to the accumulation of wealth, the corruption of virtue, and the emergence of artificial passions. As society advanced, it fostered vanity, competition, and the arts, which ultimately degraded human happiness. The pursuit of reputation and material gain alienated humanity from its natural state, leaving individuals enslaved by the opinions of others and the laws they created. The discourse illustrates how the strong eventually submit to the weak through complex social contracts that legitimize tyranny, culminating in despotism where force alone rules. Rousseau details how the desire for distinction creates universal rivalry, enmity, and a multitude of crimes, wars, and misfortunes. He describes the slow erosion of citizen rights and liberties, leading to a state where the people are oppressed by domestic tyrants while guarding against foreign masters. Ultimately, the work serves as a powerful indictment of modern civilization, suggesting that the artificial inequalities of society have transformed original man into an artificial creature, driven by endless toil and dependent on the judgment of others for his sense of existence. The text concludes that moral inequality, authorized by positive rights, clashes with natural right, as it is against the law of nature for a few to choke with superfluities while the multitude starves.

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Categories

• Philosophy
• Politics