{"product_id":"the-social-contract-political-equality-from-putney-to-rawls-hardback-9781009395267","title":"The Social Contract; Political Equality from Putney to Rawls (Hardback) 9781009395267","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Social Contract\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003ePolitical Equality from Putney to Rawls\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis book explains the social-contract tradition, from beginnings in the English Revolution, through Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and culminating in Rawls.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eWilliam A. Edmundson (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781009395267, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 4 September 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e252 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 16 x 1.9 cm, 0.51 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'This book sheds new light on a powerful and inspiring idea that has shaped modern political philosophy: the idea of a social contract. Carefully argued and engagingly written, it takes a fresh look at the works of the giants of the social contract tradition – Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Rawls – and presents them as part of a conversation that starts with the Putney Debates.' , Fabian Wendt, Virginia Tech\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eWe are all parties to a social contract and obligated under it. Or is this mere fiction? How is such an agreement possible in a society riven by deep moral disagreement? William Edmundson explains the social-contract tradition from its beginnings in the English Revolution, through Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau to its culmination in the work of John Rawls. The idea that legitimate government rests on the consent of free equals took shape in the seventeenth century and was developed in the eighteenth but fell into disuse in the nineteenth century even as democracy, toleration, and limited government gained ground. Edmundson shows how Rawls revived the idea of a social contract in the mid-twentieth century to secure these gains, as the then-dominant moral theories, such as utilitarianism, could not. The book also defends Rawls's conviction that political equality is integral to the idea of reciprocity at the heart of the tradition.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e1. The debates at Putney\u003cbr\u003e 2. Thomas hobbes, born with fear\u003cbr\u003e 3. Hobbes, from war to leviathan\u003cbr\u003e 4. Hobbes, toleration, stability, government\u003cbr\u003e 5. John locke, (semi-)tolerance and no tyrants\u003cbr\u003e 6. Locke, property and natural right\u003cbr\u003e 7. Locke, rule of law, limited government\u003cbr\u003e 8. Hume's critique\u003cbr\u003e 9. Rousseau and inequality\u003cbr\u003e 10. Rousseau, contract, and the general will\u003cbr\u003e 11. More revolutions, chartism, and the ascent of utilitarianism\u003cbr\u003e 12. John rawls, social-contract revivalist\u003cbr\u003e 13. Rawls, the choice situation\u003cbr\u003e 14. Rawls's (Revised) arguments\u003cbr\u003e 15. The case for political equality\u003cbr\u003e 16. Social-contract fragmentation\u003cbr\u003e Conclusion: has contract discourse helped?\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Social \u0026amp; political philosophy [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Social \u0026amp; political philosophy\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Social%20\u0026amp;%20political%20philosophy%20%5BHPS%5D%22\"\u003eHPS\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52413998498072,"sku":"9781009395267","price":77.38,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781009395267i.jpg?v=1784334811","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-social-contract-political-equality-from-putney-to-rawls-hardback-9781009395267","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}