Rousseau's Discourse on the Origin of Inequality

Where does inequality come from? Perhaps no philosopher wrote more eloquently on this topic than Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In his influential Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men, Rousseau distanced himself from his fellow philosophes by attacking the presumption of the progress of Western human civilization. Instead of looking forward to the increasing “advancement” of humankind, Rousseau dared to look backward to the time of “savage” man, when people satisfied their hunger “under an oak tree” and quenched their thirst “at the first stream” they found.

Rousseau claims that ancient people were strong and lived in general equality, and only the development of property rights, law, technology, and culture gave rise to inequality, and explains “the sequence of wonders by which the strong could resolve to serve the weak.”

Come evaluate his ideas with us, and perhaps you’ll gain some insights into the origin of inequality!

The discourse is ~60 pages, and split into two parts. Here’s an online version (but many others are available):

https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/125494/5019_Rousseau_Discourse_on_the_Origin_of_Inequality.pdf