This work by Rousseau was published in Paris in 1762.

The central idea of the work is that a people composed of the union of the whole differs from an amorphous mass when it constitutes a political body, the nation.

This union arises from each individual's obligation to have legitimate value based on some Foundation.

Some scholars place it in power, others in paternal prestige, and others in divine will.

Rejecting these principles, Rousseau recognizes as the foundation for the political body an original contract that is freely accepted by the members, and for which each of them unreservedly stands in solidarity with the others.

In this way, a mutual obligation is created between each individual and the whole, and between the whole and each individual.

This contract is not 'a contract from the superior to the inferior, but a contract of the body to each of its members.'