Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men

Methodology and Conclusions

In his book «Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men», Jean-Jacques Rousseau employs a historical-philosophical method, analyzing the development of human society from its natural state to civilization. He examines how social and economic changes led to the emergence of inequality. Rousseau argues that in their natural state, people were equal and independent, but with the development of private property and social institutions, differences in wealth, power, and status arose. Rousseau's main conclusion is that inequality is not the natural state of humanity but is the result of historical and social processes that can be changed.