The Triumph of the Sexual Revolution Seems Stunningly Swift. But Its Roots Go Back Centuries.

Rousseau explains a lot about many of the things that afflict our society, not just in matters of sexuality. And he certainly lived that out, sending no less than five of his own children to a foundling’s home and almost certain death, and also used and left multiple women. It’s a bitter irony, in light of that, that he wrote so much about childhood.

That said, a look at the lives of noblemen at the time suggests that Rousseau was merely providing intellectual cover for what they were actually doing. So while Rousseau clearly advanced the cause of libertinism, we might wonder whether it was just a matter of time before someone provided intellectual cover for it, or whether Rousseau is merely the most famous example.

Half-way through. This, Strange Rites by Burton, and Strangers in a Strange Land by Chaput are a wonderful trifecta to understand the landscape today.