ABSTRACT
The theories of agency that have been most widely accepted in developing the theories of moral rights and obligations are ones that have their roots in Cartesian dualism and in Newton's implicit theory of causation. As a meta-causal power, human agency is one of a very large family causal powers, because there is nothing at all unusual about causal powers acting to vary other causal powers. Governments, corporations, and all other collective social agents have at least comparable powers of control; sometimes even greatly superior ones. The chapter examines a realistic theory of social agency to explain certain aspects of social dynamics, and explains how this new theory can be used to provide adequate foundations for theories of morality. The theory to be developed is realistic, not only about the social entities involved in effecting changes in human societies, but also about the causal and meta-causal powers that these theoretical entities must be supposed to have.
