Voicing the Market: Extending the Ambition of Contract Theory

69 University of Toronto Law Journal 295 (2019)

Posted: 11 Jul 2019

See all articles by Roy Kreitner

Roy Kreitner

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law

Date Written: May 1, 2019

Abstract

Contract is a central trope in the organization of modern society. For too long, contract theory has avoided presenting a justification of contract ambitious enough to account for this centrality. Happily, that situation is changing, as private law theory is in the midst of refiguring the relationship among contracts, markets and morality. Recently, a number of unrelated works has advanced both explanatory and justificatory arguments that draw tight connections among the three. Despite divergent starting points and theoretical predilections, the theories converge in characterizing the way that markets value everything in their orbit: impersonally, diffusely, and abstractly. They posit a common vision of the market in which value emerges without coordination, without discussion, and without agreement as to its meaning, motive, or cause. The essay analyzes these theoretical innovations, offers a brief critique, and then develops a more ambitious alternative. It suggests that contracting in markets can be a site of reasoned discussion about what the market should achieve, rather than exclusively a single-minded means to maximize returns. Markets are at times an opportunity to recruit others to our projects, not only because they are financially profitable, but because they are normatively attractive. And that recruiting is a form of politicizing markets by exercising voice without invoking the need for public command. The market itself can be a site of collaborative ventures that accentuate self-government, rather than bracketing value.

Keywords: contracts, contract theory, politicizing markets

JEL Classification: K12, P16

Suggested Citation

Kreitner, Roy, Voicing the Market: Extending the Ambition of Contract Theory (May 1, 2019). 69 University of Toronto Law Journal 295 (2019) , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3410409

Roy Kreitner (Contact Author)

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law ( email )

Ramat Aviv
Tel Aviv, 69978
Israel
+972 3 6406505 (Phone)
+972 3 6409576 (Fax)

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