by Jean Jacques Rousseau (Author)

Written in 1762, 'The Social Contract' is Rousseau's attempt to describe a society in which individuals are bound to each other without infringing upon their freedom. Rousseau's social contract is an agreement between a person and civil society, resulting in a community that guarantees personal liberty and mutual preservation. His founding concepts, General Will, Sovereignty, Law, etc., require that all individuals enter into this social contract, even at the risk of coercion, leading to the now (in)famous quote that such people must be "forced to be free".