Rousseau's Du Contrat Social proposes that legitimate political authority comes from the general will of the people through a social contract, marking a shift away from the idea that political authority is derived from God or hereditary rights. The document argues that citizens should be both sovereign and subject to the laws, with the general will representing the common interest of the people as a whole rather than any individual or faction. Rousseau's social contract theory was highly influential on political thought and the development of republican forms of government during the Enlightenment period.