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 | | The Social Contract (Penguin Great Ideas) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau ISBN-10: 9780143037491 ISBN-10: 0-14-303749-8 ISBN-13: 9780143037491 ISBN-13: 978-0-14-303749-1 Paperback 2006-05-30 Penguin (Non-Classics) Find Lowest Price |
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Product Description The perfect books for the true book lover, Penguin’s Great Ideas series features twelve more groundbreaking works by some of history’s most prodigious thinkers. Each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker’s art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped our world. | ||
Reviews | ||
Jean-Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Recommended reading for anyone interested in philosophy, political science, history and, psychology. | ||
A civil society, dream on my friend... When the Social Contract was published in 1762, Rousseau became a wanted man in France and Switzerland, but in 1794 after the French revolution, his remains were buried in Paris as an international hero. In 1814, religious fundamentalists stole the remains of Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and dumped them in a pit full of quicklime, a cruel burial reserved for individuals condemned by the church. In the Social Contract, Rousseau postulates that a legitimate political authority in a civil society comes only from a social contract intended for their mutual preservation and agreed upon by all citizens (the sovereign). The sovereign that expresses the general will that aims at the common good has absolute authority over public matters. The state that is protecting citizens should follow laws of equality and liberty that are interestingly created by non-citizen lawgiver, and the state should also have a government to exercise executive power and daily business. The social contract might sound very basic, utopia like and naive to many readers but considering the political nature of that time and the topics debated such as liberty, free will, and the state of nature, this work is absolutely a rebellious scream, which was much needed at the time. Rousseau dreamed of a civil society, but given alone the way his remains were treated in 1814, it seems unlikely a civil society will ever exist. However, if we are not free in any way (or as Rousseau puts it: Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains), we are still free to dream. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a free spirit who dared to dream, though imperfectly, had the courage to speak up; and for that alone his dream should be praised. | ||
1984 Anyone? I picked up a copy of this book in a shop in Hong Kong with high expectations. I had heard of it but had not yet read it and was rather shocked to find an english language copy in a place like Hong Kong. It is very persuasive in some of it's arguments but is essentially little more than a book advocating totalitarian government systems and as I read it I couldn't help but wonder if the former Texas governer had a member of his staff read it to him sometime during his recent administration. Aside from a few clever quotations and a few speechlike chapters this book is little more than a more elegant political pundit book. It proves little more than one Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh would reason if they had a stronger command of the English language. One difference would be that Rousseau believed, at least in some parts of the book, that religion weakened government. | ||
Collectivism Against Individuality The fallacy is in his assumption that individuals must forfeit all sovereignty to the state. The second specious argument is in the creation of a General Will. The third is that the general will will not do anything to harm any of the individuals within the collective. The collectivist social contract was most assured well intentioned, but it's opposition to individualism has obviously anti-individualist consequences. This is evident in his support of democratic censorship. If the general will is offended, then censorship is justified. In his desire to create equality, he justifies both socialism and communism, and democracy in its purest form - majority rule. | ||
A very odd book. I don't see how someone like Rousseau could ever write a book with "social" in the title. The woman lived alone on the island for over 16 years. She is clearly disturbed. | ||