European Journal of Political Theory 12(4) 409–424 ! The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1474885112449586 ept.sagepub.com EJPT Article Rousseau and the paradoxes of property Chris Pierson University of Nottingham Abstract Rousseau’s life and his work are notoriously paradoxical. This certainly applies to his work on property which includes one of the most powerful of all denunciations of private property (the Second Discourse) and an affirmation of private property as ‘the most sacred of all citizens’ rights, and in some respects more important than freedom itself’ (in the essay on political economy in the Encyclopedie). In this paper, I explore the reasons for this seeming paradox, focusing upon Rousseau’s twin concerns with inequal- ity (rather than equality) and sincerity. In the end, Rousseau’s treatment is not entirely consistent, but it does make sense. Keywords Confessions, Emile, inequality, private property, Rousseau, Second Discourse, Social Contract Rousseau’s life and his work are both notoriously paradoxical. (Self-) described as ‘the most sociable and loving of men’, he always seemed happiest on his own – and he did much to keep it that way. A self-confessed hypochondriac who despised doctors. A man who seemed to feel that most women were intrigued by him (per- haps they were) but whose love affairs almost always ended in tears – if they got that far. A man who despised the lifestyle of the wealthy but relied extensively on their patronage. A man who hated books but couldn’t stop writing them. A man who proudly signed himself a ‘citizen of Geneva’ but found himself driven out of his home town (among others) as a threat to good order. The list goes on. And it includes Rousseau’s work on property. Within months of publishing his excoriat- ing attack on private property in the Second Discourse, his article on ‘political economy’ had appeared in the fifth volume of the Encyclopedie describing the right of property as ‘the most sacred of all citizens’ rights, and in some respects more important than freedom itself’. 1 In Emile, written several years later, he insists that ‘the demon of property infects everything it touches’ and yet the great virtue of Corresponding author: Chris Pierson, University of Nottingham, School of Politics and International Relations, Nottingham NG11 0DL, UK. Email: chris.pierson@nottingham.ac.uk at University of Nottingham on February 9, 2015 ept.sagepub.com Downloaded from