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If you loved
Books like Leviathan
A foundational, uncompromising descent into the brutal reality of human nature and the monumental structures we build to survive it. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Leviathan.
- austere
- somber
- intellectually rigorous
- foreboding
- 01
Essay concerning the true original extent and end of civil government
John Locke
A methodical, foundational exploration of human rights and the social contract that shaped the modern democratic world.
- 02
Rights of Man
Thomas Paine · 1837
A fiery, foundational defense of human dignity that dismantles the divine right of kings with sharp, accessible rhetoric.
- 03
Common Sense
Thomas Paine
A fiery, plainspoken match struck in the dark of political complacency, designed to ignite a revolution.
- 04
The Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli · 1959
A chillingly pragmatic masterclass in the ruthless mechanics of acquiring and holding power.
- 05
A Letter Concerning Toleration
John Locke
A foundational, methodical plea for the separation of church and state that champions the freedom of individual conscience.
- 06
Anarchy, State, and Utopia
Robert Nozick · 1974
A lively, provocative intellectual obstacle course that uses vivid thought experiments to challenge the foundations of state power.
- 07
The End of History and the Last Man
Francis Fukuyama · 1994
A sweeping, mountaintop view of human civilization that leaves you wrestling with the quiet anxiety of what happens after we win the ideological war.
- 08
Utilitarianism
John Stuart Mill
A rigorous, foundational exploration of what it means to live a good life and build a just society based on the maximization of human happiness.
- 09
The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith
A monumental, methodical journey into the philosophical roots of commerce, labor, and human ambition.
- 10
A theory of justice
John Rawls · 1971
A rigorous, monumental thought experiment that challenges you to rebuild society from scratch behind a veil of ignorance.
- 11
Utopia
Sir Thomas More (Saint)
A foundational thought experiment that invites you to wander the streets of an impossibly rational, deeply ambiguous society.
- 12
Areopagitica
John Milton · 1819
A fiery, erudite defense of the unchained mind that rings with the majestic thunder of 17th-century rhetoric.
