Jean Jacques Rousseau and the

development of modern Political,

Economic and Educational
thought

BY: SIDDHARTH SHANKAR SINGH

SUBMITTED TO: DR. SHVETA DHALIWAL
 Hypothesis - Neil Armstrong

• Jean Jacques Rousseau: one of

the first of his era to question
the ongoing social,
administrative and educational
traditions of his time.
• Took necessary steps- be it from
the promotion of his thoughts
through his works and writings,
or just by living his life as an
example of his expressions, to
make the change that he deemed
fit for his kind.
 Life of Rousseau
• Early Life: Went to Paris, was exposed
to the opulence and luxury, a far cry
from his birthplace of Geneva.
• Mid Life: Rousseau’s “state of nature”,
essential features of a satisfied life.
• Realisation: Civilisation had corrupted
man and produced this moral
degeneracy.
• Corruption: Europeans revolutionised
the Indian society. Moral Decay
followed.
• Death: in 1778, aged 66. He is now
buried in the Pantheon in Paris.
Modern Thoughts
of Rousseau
• Political:
"Man is born free and
everywhere he is in chains."

• Economic:
“Happiness: a good bank
account, a good cook, and a
good digestion.”

• Educational: "If
children understood how to
reason, they would not need to
be educated. "
 Conclusion

• Relevance in today’s world.

• Profound thinking.

• Early for his time.

“The Rousseauist project is

to counteract the
inequalities present in the
commercial society”