The Savage Truth: Rousseau on the Origins of Inequality (Rousseau, Pt. 3)

Part Three of our lecture series on Jean-Jacques Rousseau, itself part of a larger series called Foundations of Western Political Thought. Today we examine Rousseau's Second Discourse, the Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men (Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes). Written in 1755 for an essay competition sponsored by the Academy of Dijon, the Second Discourse, built upon the First Discourse (discussed in Pt. 2 of this series), and argued that man in the state of nature was purer and less defiled than man in society. Rousseau takes aim at Thomas Hobbes, arguing that man in the state of nature was happy, healthy, good, and free. Society is to blame for human vices and evil, and the first fatal step was the advent of private property. Civil government arose as a conspiracy of the rich and powerful to protect their self-interest: a fraudulent social contract. I conclude this video by comparing and contrasting the fall of man in Rousseau's account with the fall of man in the creation account in Genesis in the Bible.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro: The Second Discourse
4:35 – The Search for Natural Man
6:56 – Two Types of Inequality
8:49 – The True State of Nature
12:44 – The Difference Between Man and Beast
18:35 – Rousseau vs. Hobbes
22:40 – The Natural Virtue of Pity
34:43 – The Advent of Private Property
40:09 – Nascent Society
44:16 – Civil Society
47:59 – The Insincerity and Depravity of Civil Society
53:11 – War of All Against All
56:20 – Property Is Not A Natural Right
1:00:25 – The Fraudulent Social Contract
1:07:31 – Voltaire's Reply
1:10:31 – The Genesis Account of Creation and the Fall of Man

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Dr. Jonathan Barth received his PhD in history from George Mason University in 2014. He specializes in the history of money and banking in the early modern period, with corollary interests in early modern politics, empire, culture, and ideas. Barth is Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and Associate Director of the Center for American Institutions at Arizona State University.
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Visit my website https://www.professorbarth.com/
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this channel are my own and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University, nor are any of the views endorsed by Arizona State University.