The Social Contract
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau · first published 2006
33% recommend67% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Foundational political philosophy text cited as essential reading on legitimate government and citizens' obligations to the state; a core classic, grouped with Plato, Hobbes and Locke, for students of political theory.
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…all-time favorite pieces of political philosophy. I wish more people (not just philosophers or political scientists) took the time to read it. Also consider checking out Hobbes' Leviathan[1] and Rousseau's On the Social Contract[2]. [1] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3207/3207-h/3207-h.htm [2] https://www.gutenberg.org/files/46333/46333-h/46333-h.htm
on “On Liberty (1859) [pdf]” ↗…a believer in innate ideas but rather that they come from experience (like George Berkeley's Tree in the quad arguments). He's the principle founder of philosophical induction and much more. 15. The Social Contract—Jean-Jacques Rousseau This is a great work (and fun to read). The most famous opening sentence of any philosophical work likely ever written, ancient or modern, is at the very beginning of Chapter 1:…
on “Philosophy of Science: Suggested Core Readings and Background Texts [pdf]” ↗…obligations citizens have towards their government, and so on. Classic works include Plato's Republic, Hobbes' Leviathan, Locke's Two Treatises, J.S. Mill's On Liberty and Utilitarianism and Rousseau's Social Contract. Sometimes students skip this one but it's essential to know how our governance came about and the meaning of the Social Contract that exists between the Citizenry and Government. There's much more,…
on “Ask HN: Learning about philosophy” ↗…workload would be like 5 minutes on a Thursday morning every other month. Could you spare that? Please read a book called "Leviathan" [1] by Thomas Hobbes and maybe a little of Jean Jacques Rousseau's "The Social Contract" [2] to balance it up. The state is not your enemy, but also it is not your nanny, there to wipe your bottom and hold your feeding bottle because you "pay taxes". There's plenty of time for dining out…
on “Humanity’s broken risk perception is reversing global progress” ↗There are a lot of books you should read about this stuff; it'll make you more educated on it than any reply here can. I'd start with Rousseau's 'The Social Contract,' Locke's second treatise on government, Hobbes' 'Leviathan', John Stuart Mill's 'On Utilitarianism,' Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, and Hume's Political Discourses.
on “Philae has landed” ↗Book worth opening everyday for the rest of one's life: Discourses (Epictetus) Books worth reading 10 times: Social Contract (Rousseau), Republic (of Plato), Apology (Socrates), As a Man Think, Inquiry into the Wealth of Nation (if you can muster the energy) Books worth reading 3 times: Lucretius (on the nature of things)…
on “Why reading a book 100 times is a great idea” ↗Older Stuff: The Bible/Quran, The Republic (Plato), The Social Contract (Rousseau), Tao Te Ching (Laozi), Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky), History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides) Newer Stuff: Nine Stories (Salinger), The Razor's Edge (Maugham), Nausea (Sartre), Siddartha…
on “Ask HN: What books do you wish your manager would read?” ↗…sources, but reading the texts themselves is useful! Plato: The Republic Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics; and Politics Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan John Locke: Two Treatises of Government Rousseau: The Social Contract Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws De Toqueville: Democracy in America Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto; and Das Kapital. JS Mill: On Liberty (the classic Utilitarian Enlightenment work) John Rawls:…
on “Show HN: A political news aggregator you can comment on” ↗…Republic and then Capital to come to that conclusion. Reading groups are all about access to new ideas, they aren't meetups of political groups. But there's so much more. Read Rousseau to understand the Social Contract, Bakunin for anarchy, etc
> I'm begging project leaders everywhere - please read up on the social contract and the consent of the governed. I do not need consent as I am not governing anyone like king or president governs. If someone is using my project they are also not really entitled to anything, beyond…
on “The peaceful transfer of power in open source projects” ↗…In the Presence of the Creator: Isaac Newton & his Times Newton Opticks Newton Principia (get the modern English translation by U.C. Press) Hampson The Enlightenment Voltaire Candide Rousseau The Social Contract Boswell Life of Johnson Goethe Faust Phillips The Cousins' Wars Schom Napoleon Bonaparte Heidler & Heidler Old Hickory's War Babbage On the Economy of Machinery and Manufactures de Toqueville Democracy…
on “PG's Rarely Asked Questions” ↗Meditations: Epictetus, Social Contract: Rousseau, The Discipline of Market Leaders Every now and then I open these at a random page and read.
on “Ask HN: What books do you keep on your desk?” ↗…actually think that way—but that's not to say there aren't others who think like you. Moreover, such thinking about the obligations a citizens has to society and vice versa has been at the center of social contract theory (and practice) for hundreds of years. Thomas Hobbes wrote about the social contract in the mid 17th Century in his Leviathan, Rousseau in 1762 in The Social Contract —which was influential in the…
on “Copyright is not a moral right, it's a monetization strategy” ↗…the government. Aristotle argued the state exists to enable the good life. Its role is to cultivate virtue, shape character, and ensure that citizens live well and morally. Jean-Jacques Rousseau agreed on the social contract but argued that the community has a collective responsibility to look after the well-being and moral equality of members. In the 19th and 20th centuries, thinkers like T.H. Green expanded this to argue…
on “Tax cuts for the wealthy only benefit the rich (2023)” ↗Taxation in a democracy is inherently legitimate. And the reasoning behind it is explained clearly in Rousseau's Social Contract, although the idea goes back centuries. Simply stated, if you decide to continue living in a society, then you implicitly agree to abide by its rules. In most countries, the agreement means paying taxes…
on “Stop-And-Seize Turns Police into Self-Funding Gangs” ↗