Du contrat social vs Leviathan: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Science politique, The State, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy
Du contrat social
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The Social Contract, originally published as On the Social Contract; or, Principles of Political Right (French: Du contrat social; ou, Principes du droit politique), is a 1762 French-language book by the Genevan…
Leviathan
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Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, from 1651, is one of the first and most influential arguments towards social contract. Written in the midst of the English Civil War, it concerns the structure of government and society and…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Du contrat social is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 5 for Leviathan.
- Leviathan has the widest readership — 54811 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Du contrat social | Leviathan | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.7 (54811) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 3.5 (10) |
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Reception
| Du contrat social | Leviathan | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5 | 54811 |
| Editions | 216 | 99 |
| Citations | 67 | — |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 112826 |
| Reading it now | — | 4765 |
| Written reviews | — | 1675 |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 67796 |
| Pages | 184 | 299 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Du contrat social or Leviathan?
Du contrat social has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Du contrat social 3.9/5, Leviathan 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Du contrat social or Leviathan?
Du contrat social is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Du contrat social (184 pages, ≈ 3 h 24 m); Leviathan (299 pages, ≈ 5 h 32 m).
Which is harder to read: Du contrat social or Leviathan?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Du contrat social: Demanding; Leviathan: Demanding.