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Single Idea 21039

[filed under theme 23. Ethics / B. Contract Ethics / 1. Contractarianism ]

Full Idea

Despite a tendency to read consent into moral claims, it is hard to make sense of our morality without acknowledging the independent weight of reciprocity. If my wife is unfaithful I have two different grounds of outrage: our promise, and my loyalty.

Gist of Idea

Moral contracts involve both consent and reciprocity; making the deal, and keeping it

Source

Michael J. Sandel (Justice: What's the right thing to do? [2009], 06)

Book Ref

Sandel,Michael J.: 'Justice: what's the right thing to do?' [Penguin 2010], p.149

A Reaction

The point is that Hobbes and co over-simplify what a contract is. Compare a contract with a promise. One must be two-sided, the other can be one-sided.

The 33 ideas from Michael J. Sandel

22258 Passion for progress is always short-lived [Sandel]
22259 Conservatives are either individualistic, or communal [Sandel]
22260 Modern liberalism fails to articulate a vision of the common good [Sandel]
21028 We can approach justice through welfare, or freedom, or virtue [Sandel]
21027 Justice concerns how a society distributes what it prizes - wealth, rights, power and honours [Sandel]
21034 A just constitution harmonises the different freedoms [Sandel]
21032 Speak truth only to those who deserve the truth [Sandel]
21033 Careful evasions of truth at least show respect for it [Sandel]
21030 The categorical imperative is not the Golden Rule, which concerns contingent desires [Sandel]
21031 Man cannot dispose of himself, because he is not a thing to be owned [Sandel]
21036 Not all deals are fair deals [Sandel]
21038 Does consent create the obligation, or must there be some benefit? [Sandel]
21039 Moral contracts involve both consent and reciprocity; making the deal, and keeping it [Sandel]
21035 Just visiting (and using roads) is hardly ratifying the Constitution [Sandel]
21037 A ratified constitution may not be a just constitution [Sandel]
21040 Libertarians just want formal equality in a free market; the meritocratic view wants fair equality [Sandel]
21043 Distributive justice concern deserts, as well as who gets what [Sandel]
21042 Should we redress wrongs done by a previous generation? [Sandel]
21048 Work is not fair if it is negotiated, even in a fair situation, but if it suits the nature of the worker [Sandel]
21045 Teleological thinking is essential for social and political issues [Sandel]
21049 Liberal freedom was a response to assigned destinies like caste and class [Sandel]
21052 Justice is about how we value things, and not just about distributions [Sandel]
20594 Choosers in the 'original position' have been stripped of most human characteristics [Sandel, by Tuckness/Wolf]
21120 The self is 'unencumbered' if it can abandon its roles and commitments without losing identity [Sandel, by Shorten]
22267 In the liberal view an insult to my group doesn't hurt me, since I'm defined by choices not groups [Sandel]
22268 If persons define themselves by a group membership, insults to that group are a real harm [Sandel]
22266 The case for religious liberty depends on the religion contributing to a morally good life [Sandel]
22265 I can't defend the view that the majority values of a community are thereby right [Sandel]
22805 Liberalism concerns rights, and communitarianism concerns the common good [Sandel, by Avineri/De-Shalit]
22262 Kant's moral law has no foundation - because that would undermine its priority [Sandel]
22264 Modern liberal rights in democracies protect individuals against the majority [Sandel]
22261 Liberals say rights always come first, and justice is neutral on social values [Sandel]
22263 Liberal justice means the withdrawal of the self, as transcendental or as unencumbered [Sandel]