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Rousseau (1712-1778) was a Swiss-born
French philosopher whose works were
profoundly influential on the intellectual
ferment that led to the French
Revolution.
Revolutionary in its own time and
controversial to this day, The Social
Contract is a permanent classic of
political theory and a key source of
democratic belief. Rousseau's concepts of
"the general will" as a mode of
self-interest uniting for a common good,
and the submission of the individual to
government by contract inform the heart of
democracy, and stand as its most
contentious components today.
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