Jean-Jacques Rousseau asks what could make political authority legitimate. A pact among citizens, rather than a natural entitlement to rule, is his starting point. As you read, distinguish collective authority from the preference of any particular person; a pact does not settle every internal conflict.
It edges The Communist Manifesto for the broader question of why anyone may govern. Marx and Engels win if class and economic conflict are your starting interests. Its abstraction lowers it for beginners: keep a concrete example beside each definition instead of reading a familiar slogan as the whole argument.
AI illustration: Topnilo / OpenAI. Terms. Not a book cover.