Quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “Nature has made man happy and good, but society corrupts him.”

Rousseau believed that humans are naturally good and content when living simply. However, he argued that society, with its complexities, inequalities, and artificial desires, ultimately corrupts human nature and introduces unhappiness.

This core idea from Rousseau's *Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men* posits that humans in a hypothetical 'state of nature' are benevolent. He critically examined how the development of civil society and its institutions introduced vice and suffering.

Genevan philosopher and writer whose ideas about natural freedom, the social contract, and education profoundly influenced the French Revolution and modern political thought. His 1762 work The Social Contract opened with this line and transformed European political philosophy.