The Social Contract

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a consequence of the nature of man. His first law is to provide for his own preservation, his first cares are those he owes to himself; and, as soon as he is of an age of reason, being the sole judge of the means suitable for his preservation, he becomes by that fact his own master.

THE FAMILY is therefore, if one wishes, the first model of political societies; the leader is the image of the father, the people are the image of the children; and all being born equal and free, they alienate their liberty only for their utility. The only difference is that in the family, the love of the father for his children pays him for the care he provides them, and that in the State, the pleasure of commanding replaces this love that the leader does not have for his people.