This volume contains an inquiry into the principles which lie behind the existence and action of National Society and the National State. It is divided into six books. In the first two books, the inquiry turns of the distinction and the relations between Society and the State, first their historical development (Book I)and then in their present form (Book II). The third book is an analysis and discussion of the idea of Justice, regarded as the purpose which creates and controls the State. The fourth book deals with the conception of Rights, and with the principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity (or Cooperation) which govern the allocation of Rights: it is also concerned with the relation of these principles to the idea of Justice, with the connection between Justice and Law,and with the enforcement of Law. The fifth book is an inquiry into the grounds and limits of political obligation; and it deals, in its course, with the problem of the 'general will', the problem of sovereignty, and the problem of resistance. The sixth and last book is concerned with the functions of government, with the causes and results of their extension, and with the general issue between collectivism and individualism.