The Contract Theory

Abstract One subsidiary aim of this book is to motivate a return to Consequentialism in political philosophy by highlighting its comparative advantage over its main contemporary liberal rival in the area of intergenerational justice: the Contract Theory. It explores both the contractarianism of David Gauthier and the liberal egalitarianism of John Rawls, who represent two general alternatives to the strategy of building political theory on a Consequentialist account of individual morality. This chapter presents new objections to both Gauthier and Rawls, based on their inability to do justice to basic needs in an intergenerational context.