re, this foreshadows Rousseau's famous charge at the beginning of The Social Contract that virtually all existing governments were illegitimate: " Man is born free; and yet everywhere he is in chain". The thought process begins with what the philosopher calls the state of nature, where Rousseau accepts that we have a natural care for ourselves (amour de soi) as well as a natural feeling of compassion (pitie) for the suffering of others. We also have come to acquire, in the course of the dreadful history of our species, a concern for private property. In addition, we attach a particular value to our own independence; or rather we would value independence if we had not been corrupted by the social institutions we have created. In order to obtain and maintain independence, we have to have liberty and equality:" Independence has two related dimensions –liberty and equality"
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