In the early 1770s, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was in a particularly challenging situation, threatened by its neighbors on all sides, particularly Russia, Prussia and Austria. In an attempt to retain independence against the superior military might of the three great powers, some Poles joined together to form the Bar Confederation. One member of the confederation, Michał Wielhorski, approached both Rousseau and Gabriel Bonnot de Mably to submit suggestions for the reformation of Poland's unique "Golden Liberty", which had deteriorated from a semi-republican, semi-democratic political system into a state of virtual anarchy.