Chapter 5, A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Part Two Summary and Analysis

Rousseau thinks the man who invents property rights really pulls one over on his fellows but he is also the founder of civil society. Rousseau laments that someone did not call him out on his lie because it would have saved mankind many calamities. However, someone would have invented property anyway.

Rousseau rewinds to note that man's first feeling is of his existence and second of self-preservation. Nature gives him what he needs and instinct helps him use it. Natural sentiment leads to sex, reproduction and family. The life of man is limited to sensation. But as the number of men grow, so do men's interests. Scarcity arises and new tools are invented, like the fishing rod and the arrow. Men's interests begin...