Rationality, justice and the social contract

In one important tradition of political and ethical thought, principles of justice are viewed as if they arose from a contract among individuals, drawn up in some pre-social "state of nature". David Gauthier's "Morals by Agreement" is a contribution to this tradition, which seeks to show that rational individuals would accept certain moral constraints on their choices. In this volume, a group of philosophers, economists and political theorists discuss Gauthier's work and explore the possibilities and limitations of the contractarian approach to issues of justice. The contributors are: Robert Sugden, David Gauthier, Martin Hollis, Julian Nida-Rumelin, Albert Weale, Percy Lehning, Robert Goodin and Ken Binmore.