Freedom impacts two main areas of political thought; State of nature and social contract. This essay will examine whether or not it is correct to characterize Jean Jacque Rousseau as a supporter of a positive theory of freedom. To determine the extent to which this is true, the following areas need to be considered and explored; the definitions of freedom and freedom, Isaiah Berlin's concept of positive and negative freedom, Rousseau understands Freedom and also why Rousseau's theory can be characterized as positive freedom. The main argument of this essay is that Rousseau holds a positive theory of freedom. Jean Jacque Rousseau was born on 28 June 1712 and died on 2 July 1778. Rousseau was an important Genevan philosopher, writer and composer of the 18th century. during the Romantic era. His political philosophy was greatly influenced by the French Revolution and the American Revolution and also influenced his overall development of modern political, sociological, and educational thought. Some of Rousseau's famous works include the Social Contract or Du contrat social (1762) and L'Emile (1762). First, before determining whether Rousseau's theory of freedom is positive definite, it is important to begin by defining what freedom actually is. The Oxford Dictionary defines freedom as "the state of freedom within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's behavior or political opinions" (Oxford Dictionaries). Isaiah Berlin (1909-97) argues that there are two different concepts of freedom: negative and positive. He states that negative freedom is 'namely freedom from constraints or interfaces' (Warburton, 2004, p. 232) or in other words absence of coercion, barriers, restrictions or obstacles... middle of paper... .rieved 12 2010, 9, from Oxford Dictionaries: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0315030#m_en_gb0315030(nd). Retrieved 12 2010, 9, from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/Berlin, I. (1969). Two concepts of freedom. In Four essays on freedom. London: Oxford University Press. Haddock, B. (2008). A history of political thought. Cambridge: Politics.Replogle, R. (1989). The recovery of the social contract. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. Rousseau, J. J. (1923). The Social Contract and Discourses Translated with an Introduction by GDH Cole. London and Toronto: J.M. Dent and Sons.Shklar, J. (1969). Men and citizens: a study in Rousseau's social theory. Cambridge: Cambridge UNiversity Press. Warburton, N. (2004). Philosophy: basic reading second edition. New York: Routledge .