Introduction the Logic of Social Cooperation for Mutual Advantage – The Democratic Contract

Abstract

This article offers a brief summary of Albert Weale's (2013) book on democratic justice and the social contract and discusses in more detail its central argument about the democratic social contract, which rests on mutual advantage, deliberative rationality and rough bargaining equality. The article contextualises Weale's argument, showing how it emerged from his own scepticism towards previous social contract theories. It explores the distinctiveness of Weale's own social contract theory, discussing its main aspects: its logic, its rationality and its legitimacy. The piece concludes by offering two brief critical arguments about issues of method (the ‘empirical’ approach) and substance (the philosophical anthropology of the social contract).