Continuing the Social Contract Tradition

Social contract theory has a rich history. It originated among the ancients with recognition that social arrangements were not products of nature but convention. It developed through the centuries as theorists sought ethical criteria for distinguishing good conventions from bad. The search for such...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Keeley, Michael (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 1995
In: Business ethics quarterly
Year: 1995, Volume: 5, Issue: 2, Pages: 241-255
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:Social contract theory has a rich history. It originated among the ancients with recognition that social arrangements were not products of nature but convention. It developed through the centuries as theorists sought ethical criteria for distinguishing good conventions from bad. The search for such ethical criteria continues in recent attempts to apply social contract theory to organizations. In this paper, I question the concept of consent as a viable ethical criterion, and I argue for an alternate principle of impartiality as a more appropriate moral norm in a social contract theory of organizations.
ISSN:2153-3326
Contains:Enthalten in: Business ethics quarterly
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2307/3857355