18 books like Du contrat social

What to read after Du contrat social — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

The Muqaddimah, an introduction to history Ibn Khaldūn · 1858 · ★ 4.3 · 465p · ≈ 15h · Challenging This prolegomenon was written in the 14th century by the Arab scholar Ibn Khaldūn, & laid the intellectual foundations for philosophy of history, sociology, ethnography & economics. This translation was first published in 1958 in three volumes. Shares The State, Economics, Civilization, Political science

Leviathan Thomas Hobbes · 1651 · ★ 3.7 · 299p · ≈ 9h · Challenging 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 argues for strong central governance and the rule of an absolute sovereign as the way to avoid civil war and chaos. Shares Science politique, The State, Political science, Early works to 1800

The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli · 1515 · ★ 3.8 · 176p · ≈ 5h · Challenging The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]; Latin: De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of The Prince is of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those… Shares Science politique, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy

πολιτεία Plato · 1554 · ★ 3.9 · 503p · ≈ 16h · Challenging The Republic is Plato's most famous work and one of the seminal texts of Western philosophy and politics. The characters in this Socratic dialogue - including Socrates himself - discuss whether the just or unjust man is happier. They are the philosopher-kings of imagined cities and they also discuss the nature of philosophy and the soul among other things. Shares Ciencias políticas, Science politique, Political science, Early works to 1800

Prince Niccolò Machiavelli · 1998 · ★ 3.8 · 131p · ≈ 4h · Moderate "The Prince" is the most controversial book about winning power - and holding on to it - ever written. Machiavelli's tough-minded, pragmatic argument that sometimes it is necessary to abandon ethics to succeed made his name notorious. Yet his book has been read by strategists, politicians and business people ever since as the ultimate guide to realpolitik. How can a leader be strong and decisive,… Shares Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy

De republica Cicero · 1553 · 276p · ≈ 9h · Challenging Cicero's De re publica contains the fullest ancient account of the theory of the mixed constitution and the oldest extant narrative of early Roman history; it concludes with the Dream of Scipio, one of the most influential ancient visions of the afterlife. As a Platonic dialogue set in a Roman context, De re publica is in part an examination of Roman attitudes to Greek culture, in part a… Shares The State, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy

State and Revolution Vladimir Il’ich Lenin · 1900 · ★ 4.3 · 143p · ≈ 4h · Moderate Lenin wrote ‘State and Revolution’ in 1917, while he was hiding from the Russian secret police. The book describes the inherent nature of the State as a tool for class oppression, a creation born of one social class’s desire to control all other social classes. Drawing on detailed quotes from Karl Marx and Friedrick Engels, Lenin lays down a Marxist view of the state, describes how a… Shares The State, Political science, Philosophy

De l'esprit des lois Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu · 1748 · ★ 4.0 · 445p · ≈ 14h · Challenging Nouv. éd., revue sur les meilleurs textes, suivie De la défense de l'esprit des lois par l'autheur Shares Ciencias políticas, The State, Political science, Philosophy

Tusculanae disputationes Cicero · 1539 · ★ 4.0 · 577p · ≈ 19h · Challenging Cicero composed these discourses while in his villa in Tusculum as he was mourning the death of his daughter, in order to convey his philosophy of how to live wisely and well. They take the form of fictional dialogues between Cicero and his friends, with each one focusing on a particular Stoic theme. The first, “On the Contempt of Death,” reminds us that mortality is nothing to be upset about.… Shares The State, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy

Nova Atlantis Francis Bacon · 1627 · ★ 4.0 · 45p · ≈ 1h · Challenging **New Atlantis** is an incomplete utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, *Sylva sylvarum* (forest of materials). In *New Atlantis*, Bacon portrayed a vision of the future of human discovery and knowledge, expressing his aspirations and ideals for humankind. The novel depicts the… Shares The State, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy

Illustrations of universal progress Herbert Spencer · 1864 · 451p · ≈ 15h · Challenging Shares Political science, Philosophy with this book.

Noli Me Tangere José Rizal · 1902 · ★ 4.2 · 487p · ≈ 16h · Moderate The book revolves on the struggles of young Crisostomo Ibarra: how he humbly fights for his childhood sweetheart Maria Clara, for himself and for his fellowmen against the Spanish priest Padre Damaso and the Spanish Government who were then conquerors of San Diego, his native hometown. Coming home to San Diego from Spain to mourn for his father's death, he learned how his father, a rich… Shares Economics, Classic Literature

A Modern Utopia H. G. Wells · 1900 · ★ 3.4 · 344p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Imagine a life without worries. You live in a perfect environment untouched by pollution. You have a job to do and play an important role in society. The politicians are watching out for your best interest. And, you get along with your neighbors. Wells’ utopia may not only be unattainable, it may be detrimental to humanity’s progress. Decide for yourself as you read this classic quest for social… Shares Political science, Philosophy, Classic Literature

Νόμοι Plato · 1562 · ★ 4.2 · 508p · ≈ 16h · Challenging Shares The State, Political science, Early works to 1800, Philosophy with this book.

Inevitable

Inevitable Mike Colias · 2025 · 320p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Shares Economics with this book.

The Great Demographic Reversal

The Great Demographic Reversal Charles Goodhart & Manoj Pradhan · 2020 · 310p · ≈ 10h · Moderate This original and panoramic book proposes that the underlying forces of demography and globalisation will shortly reverse three multi-decade global trends – it will raise inflation and interest rates, but lead to a pullback in inequality.  “Whatever the future holds”, the authors argue, “it will be nothing like the past”. Deflationary headwinds over the last three decades have been primarily… Shares Economics

Philosophy and living Olaf Stapledon · 1935 · ★ 3.4 Shares Philosophy with this book.

An Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy John Stuart Mill · 1865 · 650p · ≈ 21h · Demanding "In this book, John Stuart Mill examines the philosophy of Sir William Hamilton and discusses the principal philosophical questions in his writings. The acknowledged position of Hamilton at the head of the school of philosophy to which he belongs, has principally determined Mill to connect with his name and writings the speculations and criticisms contained in the present work. The justification… Shares Economics, Political science, Philosophy

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