the centre of his political thought. Both in his Discourse on Political Economy and The Social Contract, he argues that private property was at the very foundation of his understanding of the ‘social compact’ (Teichgraeber, 1981, p. 115). According to Rousseau, property is “the most sacred of all the rights of citizenship, and even more important in some respects than liberty itself” (Rousseau, 1913, p. 271). Yet, statements such as this seem to contradict other observations for which Rousseau has been well-known for. In his Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Rousseau states: “The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society” (Rousseau, 1913, p. 207). For Rousseau, inequality was established with the creation of property and laws surrounding private property. He argues that “man is born free and everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau, 1913, p. 5). For an individual to experience true happiness, according to Rousseau, the feeling of enjoyment arises only when certain psychological conditions have been satisfied. Rousseau believes in the idea that “a sensitive being whose faculties were perfectly equal to his desires would be a perfectly happy being” (Salkever, 1978, p. 35). Here, he argues the notion of happiness as a sentiment produced by the presence of a balanced soul or being. In relation to Jeremy Bentham’s principle of utility, Rousseau discusses the idea that those who suffer the fewest pains are considered the happiest, and those who feel the fewest pleasures are considered the most miserable (Rousseau, 1762, p. 303). For Rousseau, the path to happiness requires less desire for power and more emphasis on balancing power and will. In relation to philosophers such as Machiavelli who believe humans are naturally greedy for gain, Rousseau believes it is essential to combat this in order for individuals to experience inner peace. Since for many the accumulation of property represents more power, it is reasonable to assume Rousseau advocates for a limit, similar to the Lockean Proviso, in order for individuals to experience true happiness. This is not to say Rousseau would have argued for the abolition of property or possessions, but rather it is more likely he would have encouraged a balance among all aspects of life.