Society; democracy and patriarchy in Jean Jacques Rousseau

Abstract

This article deals with the Rousseaunian link between the dual essence of social beings and social inequality. Main Rousseaunian concepts like equality, liberty or citizenship are dependent on and limited by essential dualities like: social and sexual contract, male and female nature, public and private social space, male and female learning. According to Rousseau, equality is attainable by “equals”, being half of humanity our of the social category. A contact is needed by which “natural” law of men on women might be transformed into patriarchal civil law.