Jean-Jacques Rousseau 
Social Contract 

In The Social Contract, Rousseau wrote one of the most influential studies ever made. It is as relevant today as when it was first published more than 250 years ago. Political society, Rousseau argued, required each individual to submit their personal desires to the ‘general will’. At the same time, there was no ‘divine right’ of the monarchy to allow them to act as they pleased. Therefore, there must be a social contract between governor and governed – the only truly legitimate form of government. Rousseau’s ideas influenced both the French and American Revolutions and created the foundations of the liberal democratic societies we live in today.