In what year was Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” first published? It was first published in 1762.
Rousseau originally published the book in French as Du contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique, meaning On the Social Contract; or, Principles of Political Right. It examines how political authority can be legitimate while preserving individual freedom.
Its central idea is that sovereignty belongs to the people and should express the “general will,” rather than resting simply on hereditary monarchy, conquest, or inherited privilege. Rousseau argued that citizens could be politically free when they participated in laws applying to the community as a whole.
The book appeared during a period of intense criticism of absolutist rule and helped shape later debates about citizenship, popular sovereignty, and revolution. It was controversial: authorities in Geneva and Paris condemned it, and Rousseau’s political and religious writings contributed to his persecution. Readers sometimes confuse its publication date with Rousseau’s Discourse on Inequality, published in 1755, or with later editions and translations.