Social contract theories

Social contract theories, in moral and political philosophy, provide an approach to justifying moral norms and political authority. Such justification, for social contract theories, appeals to the idea of (typically hypothetical) common agreement -- if a system of rules is mutually agreeable to all parties, then the system is justified. Mutual agreement has traditionally stood proxy for mutual advantage, with justification connected to the prudence-based rationality of homo economicus. Other theorists have tied mutual agreement to more robust conceptions of rationality. Classic social contract theorists include Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant. Contemporary social contract theorists include John Rawls, David Gauthier, Thomas Scanlon, and James Buchanan.

N.B. Some use the term "social contract" to refer to the idea that political societies are united by the consensual agreement of each individual within the society to the legitimacy of the society. This position typically involves appeals to merely tacit consent, since political societies almost always contain dissenting members. This notion can be found in Locke's Second Treatise of Government, but it is not the standard view of social contract theorists.

External links

• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism/
• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/contractarianism-contemporary/