ABSTRACT
The general proposition we will be considering in this section is the claim that state power is justified only if such power has been agreed to, by way of a contract of some sort, by those living under that power. Before considering historical examples of contract theory, let us be clear about the elements that go into any claim that an obligation rests on a previous contractual act. Such acts are undertaken by individuals who must negotiate over the terms of the contract with the resources they have access to, including mental and physical resources (to persuade others for example) and the capacities to understand their own desires and the opportunities before them. Differences in people’s access to any such resources figure in the kind of terms they will agree to, hence the outcome of contractual negotiations are in large part a function of such access. Relevant also will be the criteria by which participation in the negotiations is allowed – just who are the parties whose interaction results in the contract? Such interaction takes place against a background of a non-contractual world – the world before or without the contract. The details of this pre-contractual condition are important because the contractees’ relative position in such a condition will greatly affect what it will be rational for them to contract into. In the tradition we will now examine, the pre-contractual condition is understood as the state of nature.
