On the Social Contract

By: Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Narrated by: Erik Sandval

Length: 5 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

"Man was born free, but everywhere he is in chains." Thus begins Jean-Jacques Rousseau's influential 1762 work, On the Social Contract, a milestone of political science, and essential reading for students of history, philosophy, and social science. A progressive work, it inspired world-wide political reforms, most notably the American and French Revolutions, because it argued that monarchs were not divinely empowered to legislate. Rousseau asserts that only the people, in the form of the sovereign, have that all powerful right.

On the Social Contract's appeal and influence has been wide-ranging and continuous. It has been called an encomium to democracy and, at the same time, a blueprint for totalitarianism. Individualists, collectivists, anarchists, and socialists have all taken courage from Rousseau's controversial masterpiece.

Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Classic. Must read.

Adding this to our family canon of books to read. Required reading for citizens of free societies.

great though provoking reas

really makes you asses what your relationship to government is and what your responsibility is to maintain your personal sovereignty.
I do not agree with some of his arguments, but clearly we have hindsight in history he could not foresee.
great read

A solid foundation political science

It's easy to see why the founding fathers or inspired by this book. It provides a solid foundation on the rights and responsibilities of the citizens of a state.

Practically unlistenable performance

Even the copyright message was narrated with more expressiveness than the rest of the book.

Old and Tired

He has a few good points, but quite a bit of unsubstantiated and irrational claims.

Thank you sir!

Sounds naive in 21st century, but if you factor in when it was written! It's a monumental work form the first letter to the end.

great book

the book was insightful and answers many questions swirling in my mind
yet the narrator was quite boring

A classic

What did you love best about On the Social Contract?

Interesting to understand the philosophy.

Did Erik Sandval do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

A pretty dry read on the narrators part but clearly understood.

Neat alternative to reading

The audio book allowed me to get through The Social Contract. I zoned out while reading because the content is good but dry, so listening happily took it off my list of works to get through.

Apropos for Today

I’m no philosopher, aside from the conversations from a barstool. In fact, at times I felt like I may need a guide to go along with this book.
That said, this book has many timeless elements, concerning the natural rights of man, the will to be or not to be governed, the degrees of governance, and it’s breakdowns. Some of it sounds familiar to these days. In addition, one thing I liked, was the call back to Roman history, a lot of it that I was unaware of, and found myself researching.
Sandval’s reading was straightforward and easy to follow.
A short book, and something everyone should at least be familiar with.

Good source material, poor readout

The format of the book makes the transition to audio very difficult. At times it is hard to know whether there is a list, paragraph or footnote.

Classic but the narration is tedious

Obviously a classic text but the narrator does a poor job. Such a boring and monotone delivery…. was a struggle to get through.

Classic Enlightenment Philosophy from Rousseau

It is nice to see the the philosophy of Jean-Jacques, although a bit out of date for today's thoughts. It set the basics for a lot of the modern philosophy.

Another Blackstone Audio thought, that makes the story to follow so difficult. It's like its being read by a computer. It's like the narrator is reading a fairy tale and tries to put you to sleep. No colour in voice, plain monotony, no emotion, giving you the illusion that Rousseau had to be one of the most boring persons to ever live.