Of the Social Contract and Other Political Writings
Penguin Classics
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Of the Social Contract and Other Political Writings
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Narrated by:
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Heather Long
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John Kapansa
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Roy McMillan
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
'Man was born free, and everywhere he is in chains.'
These are the famous opening words of a treatise that has stirred vigorous debate ever since its first publication in 1762. Rejecting the view that anyone has a natural right to wield authority over others, Rousseau argues instead for a pact, or 'social contract', that should exist between all the citizens of a state and that should be the source of sovereign power. From this fundamental premise, he goes on to consider issues of liberty and law, freedom and justice, arriving at a view of society that has seemed to some a blueprint for totalitarianism, to others a declaration of democratic principles.
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 436
Thomas Paine's The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology, published in three parts from 1794, was a best seller in America, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. Promoting a creator-God while advocating reason in the place of revelation, Paine’s controversial pamphlet caused his native British audience, fearing the results of the French Revolution, to receive it with more hostility than their American counterparts.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Amazed by the energy, originality & bravery
- By Darwin8u on 10-06-12
By: Thomas Paine
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The Founders' Key
- The Divine and Natural Connection Between the Declaration and the Constitution and What We Risk by Losing It
- By: Dr. Larry Arnn
- Narrated by: Van Tracy
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story5 out of 5 stars 23
Dr. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, reveals this integral unity of the Declaration and the Constitution. Together, they form the pillars upon which the liberties and rights of the American people stand. United, they have guided history's first self-governing nation, forming our government under certain universal and eternal principles. Unfortunately, the effort to redefine government to reflect "the changing and growing social order" has gone very far toward success.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Linking Declaration and Constitution.
- By Ed Bethune on 04-26-24
By: Dr. Larry Arnn
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Anarchy
- By: Errico Malatesta
- Narrated by: Caroline Collins
- Length: 1 hr and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
"Anarchy" (1907) is a political classic written by famous anarchist Errico Malatesta. "Anarchy is a word which comes from the Greek, and signifies, strictly speaking, without government: the state of a people without any constituted authority. Before such an organization had begun to be considered possible and desirable by a whole class of thinkers, so as to be taken as the aim of a party (which party has now become one of the most important factors in modern social warfare)."
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5 out of 5 stars
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Malatesta is a Fantastic writer.
- By Elly on 08-28-21
By: Errico Malatesta
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Politics
- By: Aristotle
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 149
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 135
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 132
Aristotle's Politics is a work of political philosophy. The end of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics declared that the inquiry into ethics necessarily follows into politics, and the two works are frequently considered to be parts of a larger treatise, or perhaps connected lectures, dealing with the philosophy of human affairs. Aristotle is generally regarded as one of the most influential ancient thinkers in a number of philosophical fields, including political theory.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Aristotle Lives Again!
- By Jeff on 02-25-15
By: Aristotle
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The Anti-Federalist Papers
- By: Patrick Henry
- Narrated by: John Clicman
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
The Anti-Federalist Papers is the collective name given to works written by the Founding Fathers who were opposed to or concerned with the merits of the United States Constitution of 1787. Starting on 25 September 1787 (8 days after the final draft of the US Constitution) and running through the early 1790s, these anti-Federalists published a series of essays arguing against a stronger and more energetic union as embodied in the new Constitution.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The wrong side won
- By Amazon Customer on 05-25-21
By: Patrick Henry
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The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates
- By: Ralph Ketcham - editor, Ralph Ketcham - introduction
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story5 out of 5 stars 34
The complete texts of the documents that tell the story of the clashes and compromises that gave birth to the Unites States of America. Should the members of the government be elected by direct vote of the people? Should the government be headed by a single executive, and how powerful should that executive be? Should immigrants be allowed into the United States? How should judges be appointed? What human rights should be safe from government infringement? In 1787, these important questions and others were raised as the states debated the merits of the proposed Constitution.
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1 out of 5 stars
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don't buy this
- By Kindle Customer on 07-31-20
By: Ralph Ketcham - editor, and others
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On Revolution
- By: Hannah Arendt
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 236
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 206
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 205
Hannah Arendt's penetrating observations on the modern world, based on a profound knowledge of the past, have been fundamental to our understanding of our political landscape. On Revolution is her classic exploration of a phenomenon that has reshaped the globe. From the 18th-century rebellions in America and France to the explosive changes of the 20th century, Arendt traces the changing face of revolution and its relationship to war while underscoring the crucial role such events will play in the future.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Insightful Analysis of Differing Revolutions
- By Roger on 01-10-18
By: Hannah Arendt
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Edmund Burke
- A Genius Reconsidered
- By: Russell Kirk
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 161
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
Russell Kirk has ingeniously combined into a living whole the private Burke and the public Burke. He gives us a fresh assessment of Burke, a statesman enjoying even greater influence today than in his own time. He lucidly unfolds Burke's philosophy, showing how it revealed itself in concrete historical situations in the 18th century and how Burke, through his philosophy, "speaks to our age".
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4 out of 5 stars
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Narration too Fast for Me
- By K on 01-16-13
By: Russell Kirk
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The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
- By: Gordon S. Wood
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 24 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 81
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 64
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
This classic work explains the evolution of American political thought from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution. In so doing, it greatly illuminates the origins of the present American political system.
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1 out of 5 stars
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This Audible book is NOT for a popular audience!
- By BigWally on 11-22-18
By: Gordon S. Wood
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The Original Argument
- The Federalists' Case for the Constitution, Adapted for the 21st Century
- By: Glenn Beck, Pat Gray
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 371
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 282
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 278
Glenn Beck revisited Thomas Paine’s famous pre-Revolutionary War call to action in his #1 New York Times bestseller Glenn Beck’s Common Sense. Now he brings his historical acumen and political savvy to this fresh, new interpretation of The Federalist Papers.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must for Freedom lovers
- By Danny on 06-16-11
By: Glenn Beck, and others
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The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
- By: Bernard Bailyn
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
To the original text of what has become a classic of American historical literature, Bernard Bailyn adds a substantial essay, "Fulfillment", as a postscript. Here he discusses the intense nationwide debate on the ratification of the Constitution, stressing the continuities between that struggle over the foundations of the national government and the original principles of the Revolution.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Bernard Bailyn is a genius!
- By John M. Crean on 04-21-19
By: Bernard Bailyn
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Churchill's Trial
- Winston Churchill and the Salvation of Free Government
- By: Dr. Larry Arnn
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
A penetrating look at the necessity of constitutional limits upon government and exceptional men to lead those governments, uniquely taken by overlaying the life and writings of Winston Churchill with the American experiment.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Masterpiece of Political Philosophy
- By Jean on 01-25-16
By: Dr. Larry Arnn
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On Liberty
- By: John Stuart Mill
- Narrated by: Alastair Cameron
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
On Liberty is a book by John Stuart Mill, one of the most celebrated philosophers on the subject of leadership and governing ideals. The book focuses on Mill's philosophy on utilitarianism which is one of his defining principles. The principles of the book are focused on developing a relationship between the ruling authority and liberty.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Must read
- By Trevor M. on 08-04-21
By: John Stuart Mill
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