The Basic Political Writings Quotes

“I do not know the art of being clear to those who do not want to be attentive.”
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings

“I ask: which of the two, civil or natural life, is more likely to become insufferable to those who live it? We see about us practically no people who do not complain about their existence; many even deprive themselves of it to the extent they are able, and the combination of divine and human laws is hardly enough to stop this disorder.”
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings

“The mind has its needs, as does the body. The needs of the latter are the foundations of society; the needs of the former make it pleasant.”
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Basic Political Writings

“His starting place is the paradox of the first Discourse: progress is a bad thing because it is morally corrupting. Human beings were better when their lives were simpler and less sophisticated. Underlying this argument- barely stated but already present- is a further paradox, the paradox of the second Discourse: inequality is the root of all evils. Progress requires inequality because it requires some people to have the time to concentrate on literature, philosophy, or science. Free time is one of the luxuries that only come into existence with inequality, and all intensifies the process.”
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Rousseau: The Basic Political Writings: Discourse on the Sciences and the Arts, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Discourse on Political Economy, ... The State of War