Reinhard Brandt: Rousseaus Philosophie der Gesellschaft

Rousseau attempted to conceive of a society in which man’s obligation under natural law to obey himself only was not violated. He began with people who unite to act together against external threats, and his logical conclusion was the abolishment of the duality between people and citizens, between society and the state. His doctrine in ›The Social Contract‹ is paradoxical, since it leads to the concept of a state-like society without the state.