The Social Contract: Book 3, Introduction Summary & Analysis

In Book 1, Rousseau explained what makes a state legitimate: it must be founded on a social contract among equals that preserves everyone’s freedom by converting individuals into a community. In Book 2, he explained how such a state can legitimately govern itself: it must allow citizens to exercise sovereignty as a collective, which means passing (but not implementing) laws. Now, in Book 3, he looks at what it actually takes to implement laws, which is the purpose of the institution he calls “government.”