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Loading... On the Social Contractby Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. An okay read. I don't necessarily agree with everything he has to say, but it's worth a look at. (  ) Anagarika | Nov 3, 2009 |  The Social Contract is Jean-Jacques Rousseau's seminal work. He takes on the question of the state, government, and man's desire to be free under these conditions. Although Rousseau speaks quite too favorably of Rome and Sparta when justifying his main points, he nevertheless provides a provocative case for the use of the State, it's laws, and it's authority. However his flaws lie in his assurance of top-down government, and lack of faith in true democracy. He accuses direct democracy as incredibly paralyzing, and inefficient, which is true when applied in the context of mercantile, pre-modern conditions. “You forget that the fruits belong to all and that the land belongs to no one.” (  )1  alexgalindo | Feb 28, 2008 | Important enlightenment literature, but you can see all the places that are proto-communist. I can't really agree with his support of an "Enlightened Minority" required to direct societal affairs. Read Locke instead ;D (  ) Meh_ssdd | Dec 12, 2007 | The predecessor to Karl Marx and Kapital. To understand Marxism, Rosseau and his ideas are practically a prerequisite, his concepts of collectivism, and distrust of representative democracy, and his declaration that "Man is free, yet everywhere he is in chains". For hardcore political scientists: read this to understand the ideological underpinnings of the architects of the French Revolution, the Jacobins, then read Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" to see a critique of Rosseauean ideology and what it did to France. (  ) Kade | Jun 9, 2007 | Interesting ideas that don't really hold up to philosophical scutiny. ( ) cestovatela | May 8, 2007 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0140442014, Paperback)Revolutionary in its own time and controversial to this day, this work is a permanent classic of political theory and a key source of democratic belief. Rousseau's concepts of "the general will" as a mode of self-interest uniting for a common good, and the submission of the individual to government by contract inform the heart of democracy, and stand as its most contentious components today. Also included in this edition is Rousseau's Discourse on Political Economy", a key transitional work between his Discourse on Inequality and The Social Contract. This new translation offers fresh insight into a cornerstone of political thought, which is further illuminated by a comprehensive introduction and notes.(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:02 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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