Rousseau claimed that his philosophy is grounded in the principle that “nature made man happy and good, but society depraves him and makes him miserable.” Through careful reading of Rousseau’s central social and political writings we will examine his ideas on the nature of man, human society and the state. We will inquire how Rousseau’s political theory addresses and seeks to remedy the defects and inequities that Rousseau diagnoses in modern society. What norms and institutions would render a society free and equal? What price does an individual citizen pay for belonging to such a society? What does Rousseau mean when he says that a person can be forced to be free? What is the relation between self-love (amour-propre) and social inequality? In addition to a close reading of texts by Rousseau we will read some contemporary scholarly literature and explore Rousseau’s relevance to questions in contemporary political theory.