ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by defining ‘contractarianism’, after which it identifies the two major ways in which the version of contractarianism to be defended in this book differs from those that have come before: by being put forward as a political morality and nothing else, and by containing a reversed state of nature thought experiment. Next it offers a rough initial definition of ‘political morality’. Then, finally, it lays out the claim about political morality that is definitive of this book’s version of contractarianism, namely: the intentions of those who are disposed to intentionally sustain a liberal democratic state determine its civic enterprise, and its civic enterprise constitutes the common ground of the various role obligations attached to the roles within that state. The chapter concludes with an outline of the rest of the book.
