Rousseau's Second Discourse and Social Contract: Challenging the Received View

Abstract

According to conventional wisdom, Rousseau's two key texts, the Second Discourse and the Social Contract, are tied together as question and answer. This is the view that is challenged in the present article. It is demonstrated how the Social Contract cannot, in fact, be more than a partial solution to the problems defined by the Second Discourse, and it is pointed out how Rousseau's Project for Corsica is a far more plausible answer to the challenges presented by him in the earlier work. This conclusion has significant consequences for our understanding of Rousseau's political philosophy in general, as well as his position in relation to later theoretical currents in political philosophy.