Discourse on the Origin of Inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a major figure of the Enlightenment, a philosophic movement in 17th- and 18th-century Europe that had an enormous influence on the modern world. Its animating principle was that reason and science could improve the understanding of not only the physical world but also of human society. New academic fields such as political science, economics, sociology, and anthropology sought to identify truths of human behavior that, if heeded, would allow for a healthier and more fulfilling life. For example, Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (1776) is generally considered the first modern book on economics and provided the theoretical basis for modern capitalism, free trade, and the division of labor.

Many core ideas of the Enlightenment reflect its historical circumstances. Protestants and Catholics throughout Europe spent decades locked in brutal conflict. As a solution, Enlightenment thinkers suggested religious toleration. Extraordinary developments in science and mathematics promoted the idea that human beings could discover principles of nature and use them to better their condition. A gradual shift in power away from a landed aristocracy toward a commercial middle class undermined traditional notions of authority and promoted the idea of society as a “contract” among free individuals rather than a hierarchical order with privileges based on heredity or the assertion of divine right.

Rousseau is a product of the Enlightenment but also one of its major critics. Many Enlightenment thinkers shared the assumption that the future will consistently improve upon the present, whereas Rousseau, especially in the Discourse on Inequality, argues that humanity’s best days are gone and conditions are likely to worsen over time. Rousseau’s main objection to other major Enlightenment philosophers is that they build political and economic models based on a theory of human nature that has already become corrupt. According to Rousseau, not enough attention is paid to how to make people virtuous and happy. He argues that the Enlightenment goals of material prosperity and mass education are likely to make people less happy and less virtuous.

Rousseau can be understood as a bridge between the Enlightenment and the Romantic movement, which would gain prominence after his death. He is committed to the Enlightenment project of developing a more scientific understanding of human society, confident that it will reveal principles for improving the human condition. He breaks from the Enlightenment in his refusal to elevate reason as the primary method for achieving that improvement. While he is obviously a philosopher, and therefore employs reason for the betterment of humanity, he believes the best social order is one that satisfies people’s emotional and spiritual needs rather than their material interests. He believed that his contemporaries, in trying to make society rich and educated would leave people unhappy and unfulfilled.