Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People Together with Plato’s Republic, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract is regarded as one of the most original examples of utopian political engineering in the history of ideas. Similar to the Republic, Rousseau’s masterwork is better known today for its author’s idiosyncratic view of political justice than its lessons on lawmaking or governance in any concrete sense. Challenging this common view, Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People examines the Genevan’s contributions as a legislator and builder of institutions, relating his major ideas to issues and debates in twenty-frst century political science. Ethan Putterman explores how Rousseau’s just state would actually operate, investigating how laws would be drafted, ratifed and executed, arguing that the theory of the Social Contract is more pragmatic and populist than many scholars assume today. ethan putterman is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, National University of Singapore. He is a past Fellow in the Society for the Liberal Arts in the College at the University of Chicago. www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76538-1 - Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People Ethan Putterman Frontmatter More information