contractarianism
Contractarianism is a family of theories in moral and political philosophy that explains the authority of norms by appealing to an agreement among rational agents. In its core form, moral or political principles are justified if they would be agreed to under fair bargaining conditions or would be part of a rational compact. The approach emphasizes rational choice, mutual benefit, and legitimacy derived from cooperative arrangements rather than divine command or tradition.
Historically, Thomas Hobbes argued that to escape the state of nature people consent to surrender power to
Contractarianism distinguishes hypothetical contracts used to justify norms from actual agreements and addresses questions of political
Critics challenge the assumptions of rational agreement, the treatment of non-rational beings, and the sufficiency of