Abstract: It is generally accepted that private property is the institutional foundation of modern civilised society. As an important critic of modern civilization，Rousseau’s attitude toward property seems ambiguous at first glance，criticising the inequality and corruption aroused by the integration of property and amour-propre，while at the same time recognizing that property is the sinew of political society and individual liberty. This article attempts to demonstrate that Rousseau’s ideas are in fact not contradictory and that his thinking on political economy is rooted in a systematic critique of “unsocial sociability”. According to Rousseau，once an individual must depend on others to satisfy his/her material and mental needs，distorted social relations will inevitable arise，leading to problems such as interpersonal oppression and the loss of one’s true nature. Rousseau provides different cures for the “natural man in civilised society”（Emile） and for the citizens. To make Emile a moderate property owner，Jean-Jacque limits the moral and social effects of private property with the logic of natural necessity，and then cultivates Emile’s universal love of humanity through the systematic restraint of amour-propre. As a consequence，Emile is a gentle property owner with a balance between natural “unsociability” and benevolent “sociable sociability”. To construct a moderate society，the scope of private property must be determined by natural necessity，the general will must be obeyed by the individual citizen，the relationship between the individual and the community must be used to block interpersonal comparisons，and economic policies to control the polarisation of the rich and the poor must be carried out. Such a society could be termed as “a society without sociability”. In sum，Rousseau’s political economy is distinct from mainstream contemporary liberalism，socialism and liberal egalitarianism，and remains an important inspiration for understanding inequality today.

Key words: Rousseau, private property, amour-propre, sociability, political economy