Rousseau's Critique of Inequality
Reconstructing the Second Discourse

This book evaluates Rousseau's arguments concerning why inequality exists in society and why it poses dangers to human well-being.

Frederick Neuhouser (Author)

9781107064744, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 June 2014

250 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.6 cm, 0.39 kg

'Neuhouser's penetrating study of Rousseau's Discourse is doubly welcome. First, it serves as a useful reconstruction of the central argument of the Discourse concerning the sources of inequality and its pervasiveness in modern society. Second, his study goes beyond a commentary by actively engaging Rousseau's own critical examination of inequality and showing its relevance for thinking about the economic, social, and political inequalities we continue to face today.' John Scott, University of California

Rousseau's Discourse on the Origin of Inequality among Mankind, published in 1755, is a vastly influential study of the foundations of human society, including the economic inequalities it tends to create. To date, however, there has been little philosophical analysis of the Discourse in the literature. In this book, Frederick Neuhouser offers a rich and incisive philosophical examination of the work. He clarifies Rousseau's arguments as to why social inequalities are so prevalent in human society and why they pose fundamental dangers to human well-being, including unhappiness, loss of freedom, immorality, conflict, and alienation. He also reconstructs Rousseau's four criteria for assessing when inequalities are or are not legitimate, and why. His reconstruction and evaluation of Rousseau's arguments are accessible to both scholars and students, and will be of interest to a broad range of readers including philosophers, political theorists, cultural historians, sociologists, and economists.

Introduction
1. Nature is not the source of social inequality
2. Amour propre is the source of social inequality
3. The normative resources of nature
4. Judging the legitimacy of social inequalities
5. The contemporary relevance of Rousseau's critique.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD]