Full Idea
What man loses by the social contract is his natural liberty and the absolute right to anything that tempts him; what he gains is civil liberty and the legal rights of propery in what he possesses.
Gist of Idea
In society man loses natural liberty, but gains a right to civil liberty and property
Source
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (The Social Contract (tr Cress) [1762], I.8)
Book Reference
Rousseau,Jean-Jacques: 'The Social Contract', ed/tr. Cranston,Maurice [Penguin 1972], p.65
A Reaction
It is an appealing idea that the purpose of society is to increase liberty, not to restrict it. That, on the whole, is my view. American libertarianism opens up the world to gun crime, vigilantes, pornographers and bounty-hunters.