Jean-Jacques Rousseau addresses the question of what caused human inequality and whether it is authorized by natural law. He begins by examining the state of nature, portraying primitive humans as physically robust, solitary, and guided by basic instincts and natural pity rather than reason or malice. In this original condition, men lived free and equal, with minimal wants that were easily satisfied by the surrounding environment, knowing neither property nor domination.
The narrative then shifts to the gradual development of the human mind and the spark of perfectibility. As populations grew and environmental challenges mounted, humans formed rudimentary tools, developed language, and established families. This transition from solitary existence to cooperative living brought about the first major shift, introducing leisure time and the initial notions of comparison, public esteem, and vanity.
The pivotal turning point arrives with the invention of agriculture and metallurgy, which Rousseau identifies as the true catalysts of civilization and ruin. The enclosure of land and the introduction of private property destroyed original equality. As labor became necessary and unequal in its rewards, wealth accumulated in the hands of a few, leading to intense competition, conflict, and the emergence of rich and poor.
To escape the resulting perpetual warfare and insecurity, the wealthy devised a clever social contract, convincing the weaker masses to unite under a system of laws and magistrates. While framed as a measure for mutual protection and peace, this political institution permanently fixed the laws of property and inequality, transforming an artful usurpation into an irrevocable title.
As societies grew more complex, political structures degenerated through various forms of government, eventually culminating in despotism. Under absolute tyranny, the circle of inequality closes. The subjects return to a new form of equality because everyone becomes equally powerless under a master, and force once again rules absolutely. Rousseau concludes that moral and political inequality, which allows a few to hoard superfluities while the many starve, directly clashes with natural law.
