Re-inventing the Social Contract
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2300761 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pekka Sulkunen (0000-0003-3260-9147, University of Helsinki, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 325-333 |
| Publication date | 2007-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Acta Sociologica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-6993 • E-ISSN: 1502-3869 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0001699307080939 |
| OpenAlex | W2001003264 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 13 |
The sociological concept of 'society' has been questioned in multiple ways in recent decades. However, one central aspect of the notion has been taken so much for granted that no one has challenged it: society is not a plan and cannot be based on an agreement. Yet contemporary societies increasingly rely on voluntary contracts between individuals, groups, organizations, enterprises, states and their organs or officials. In this article, I argue that new contractualism cannot be explained simply as an expansion of the market at the expense of the state. The contract is an illusion that disguises relations of domination as voluntary partnership. It stresses agency to a point where autonomy is not only granted to but demanded of even those who have little or no capacity for it. The illusion of the contract has real consequences on how societies are governed and how they relate to each other. This is the reason why the concept of society no longer has the sense of an entity. Consequently, sociology has turned from a study of societies to a study of practices. The term hexicology is suggested for this new orientation
Agency (philosophy · Autonomy · Contractualism · Duty · Economics · Epistemology · General partnership · Illusion · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Social contract · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · Voluntarism (philosophy · Law · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
Nigeria
Intergenerational Fairness and Ageing Styles in Europe
“You have to be willing to make the sacrifice”
Solidarity beyond the grave
Biobank research and the welfare state project
Society on its own’
Things fall apart’
Community justice and public safety
Incentives, contract policy, and disrespect
The concept of generational contract
Perspectives on the rebel social contract
The implications of contractualism for the responsibilisation of higher education
Herbert Spencer
Making of the English Working Class
Distinction
Distinction
Articles Originally Presented at the Eiss Conference on ‘Choice in Social Security’ in Graz 2003
The New Spirit of Capitalism
The three worlds of welfare capitalism
The Division of Labour in Society
The Lonely Crowd
De la division du travail social
| Citations per year | 0.75 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2010 - 2025 (16) |
| Highly cited | No |