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It proclaims that the confused desires of a supposed majority constitute Rousseau’s “general will,” and must not be weakened by intermediary institutions like legislatures or independent courts.

“The first question is, why is it that their employees feel the need? Because if you were really treating your employees very well, it probably would not come up,” Rousseau said.

Servers wended through the crowd, carrying hors d’oeuvres trays of crescent duck and caviar as they passed shelves lined with rare editions of works by Rousseau and Voltaire.

But you can just as easily read it as a lucid explication of Rousseau’s ideas about human nature, or as a slippery narrative told by a not-quite-reliable narrator who’s trying to get away with murder.

The only non-Chinese winner at last summer’s world championships in Fukuoka, Rousseau chose not to defend his individual title in Doha.