For anyone who has ever tried to make full sense of Rousseau but couldn’t (like me), Matthew Mendham nicely summarizes the central tensions in Rousseau’s thought:

Rousseau seems to argue, on one hand, that moderns are luxurious, lazy, weak, and soft, in opposition to primitive hardiness, vigor, ferocity, and rustic virtue. On the other hand, he depicts modern life as cruel, frenzied, competitive, and harsh, in opposition to primitive gentleness, idleness, abundance, and spontaneity.

Here is his recent article (behind a paywall) in the American Journal of Political Science where he tries to help wayward Rousseau souls 🙂