Social Contract
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Wear and tear with damage
Pages: Good
At the heart of modern political thought lies a single, electrifying question: on what terms do individuals surrender their freedoms to a governing authority? Social Contract brings together the essential writings of three towering Enlightenment minds — John Locke, David Hume, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau — whose answers to that question permanently altered the course of Western civilization. Locke's foundational arguments for natural rights and government by consent, Hume's probing scepticism of contractarian theory, and Rousseau's passionate vision of the general will are gathered here in a single authoritative volume, introduced by the eminent political theorist Sir Ernest Barker. This anthology presents not merely a collection of historical texts but a living intellectual debate, one in which each thinker argues against and illuminates the others. Barker's erudite introduction provides an indispensable framework, situating these works within the sweep of European political philosophy and tracing their profound influence on democratic governance, revolution, and constitutionalism. From the corridors of the British Parliament to the drafting of the American Declaration of Independence, these ideas continue to reverberate — and the tensions between liberty, authority, and the common good they chronicle remain as urgent and unresolved as ever.
Author: Locke, Hume, Rousseau
Format: Hardback
Genre: Philosophy
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Wear and tear with damage
Pages: Good
At the heart of modern political thought lies a single, electrifying question: on what terms do individuals surrender their freedoms to a governing authority? Social Contract brings together the essential writings of three towering Enlightenment minds — John Locke, David Hume, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau — whose answers to that question permanently altered the course of Western civilization. Locke's foundational arguments for natural rights and government by consent, Hume's probing scepticism of contractarian theory, and Rousseau's passionate vision of the general will are gathered here in a single authoritative volume, introduced by the eminent political theorist Sir Ernest Barker. This anthology presents not merely a collection of historical texts but a living intellectual debate, one in which each thinker argues against and illuminates the others. Barker's erudite introduction provides an indispensable framework, situating these works within the sweep of European political philosophy and tracing their profound influence on democratic governance, revolution, and constitutionalism. From the corridors of the British Parliament to the drafting of the American Declaration of Independence, these ideas continue to reverberate — and the tensions between liberty, authority, and the common good they chronicle remain as urgent and unresolved as ever.