The Social Contract
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Read by LibriVox Volunteers
The Social Contract outlines Rousseau's views on political justice, explaining how a just and legitimate state is to be founded, organized and administered. Rousseau sets forth, in his characteristically brazen and iconoclastic manner, the case for direct democracy, while simultaneously casting every other form of government as illegitimate and tantamount to slavery. Often hailed as a revolutionary document which sparked the French Revolution, The Social Contract serves both to inculcate dissatisfaction with actually-existing governments and to allow its readers to envision and desire a radically different form of political and social organization. (Summary by Eric Jonas) (4 hr 46 min)
Chapters
Reviews
An intriguing argument and a decent recording
NSA
I found Rousseau's argument quite compelling. I also found most readers familiar with the presentation style typical of this kind of work.
Amazing readers
random reader
The readers were very easy to understand.
Smoke
Thick accent of the reader makes this difficult to follow
A follow up title on Thomas Hobbes’ ‘Leviathan’
Amoni Kitooke
A really interesting read, innovatively read and recorded by several readers - a good contrast good for the ears. I enjoyed it, THANK YOU.
a great audiobook
Mikko
I found the numerable amount of readers to be refreshing and highlighting the different subjects one must see through to tackle Rousseau's ideas
Matthew ferrari
very informative, look at the political situation and signaling in the media today and most of the negative affects written of a declining state are manifest
Awful recording
rob thistleton
A lot ot dead air frustrating. I am hoping to find another version on librivox.org or elsewhere.
it's great
Nick Sieben
always good to read in historical texts, the similarities of today, restores sanity into my life