The Social contract with endogenous sentiments

Moral values infuence individual behavior and social interactions. A specially signif- cant instance is the case of moral values concerning work e¤ort. Individuals determine what they take to be proper behaviour and judge the others, and themselves, accordingly. They increase their esteem -and self-esteem- for those who perform in excess of the standard and decrease their esteem for those who work less. These changes in self-esteem result from the self-regulatory emotions of guilt or pride extensively studied in Social Psychology. We examine the interactions between sentiments, individual behaviour and the social contract in a model of rational voting over redistribution where individual self-esteem and relative es-teem for others are endogenously determined. Individuals di¤er in their productivities. The desired extent of redistribution depends both on individual income and on individual attitudes toward others. We characterize the politico-economic equilibria in which sentiments, labor supply and redistribution are simultaneously determined. The model has two types of equilibria. In "cohesive" equilibria, all individuals conform to the standard of proper behav- iour, income inequality is low and social esteem is not biased toward any particular type. Under these conditions equilibrium redistribution increases in response to larger inequality. In a "clustered" equilibrium skilled workers work above the mean while unskilled workers work below. In such an equilibrium, income inequality is large and sentiments are biased in favor of the industrious. As inequality increases, this bias may eventually overtake the egoistic demand for greater taxation and equilibrium redistribution decreases. The type of equilibrium that emerges crucially depends on inequality. We contrast the predictions of the model with data on inequality, redistribution, work values and attitudes toward work and toward the poor for a set of OECD countries.

Neutrality and the social contract

Given the fact of moral disagreement, theories of state neutrality which rely on moral premises will have limited application, in that they will fail to motivate anyone who rejects the moral premises on which they are based. By contrast, contractarian theories can be consistent with moral scepticism, and can therefore avoid this limitation. In this paper, I construct a contractarian model which I claim is sceptically consistent and includes a principle of state neutrality as a necessary condition. The principle of neutrality which I derive incorporates two conceptions of neutrality (consequential neutrality and justificatory neutrality) which have usually been thought of as distinct and incompatible. I argue that contractarianism gives us a unified account of these conceptions. Ultimately, the conclusion that neutrality can be derived without violating the constraint established by moral scepticism turns out to rely on an assumption of equal precontractual bargaining power. I do not attempt to defend this assumption here. If the assumption cannot be defended in a sceptically consistent fashion, then the argument for neutrality given here is claimed to be morally minimal, rather than fully consistent with moral scepticism.

Breaching the social contract: crises of democratic representation and patterns of extreme right party support

Why has the extreme right Greek Golden Dawn, a party with clear links to fascism experienced a rise defying all theories that claim that such a party is unlikely to win in post-WWII Europe? And, if we accept that economic crisis is an explanation for this, why has such a phenomenon not occurred in other countries that have similar conducive conditions, such as Portugal and Spain? This article addresses this puzzle by (a) carrying out a controlled comparison of Greece, Portugal and Spain and (b) showing that the rise of the extreme right is not a question of intensity of economic crisis. Rather it is the nature of the crisis, i.e. economic versus overall crisis of democratic representation that facilitates the rise of the extreme right. We argue that extreme right parties are more likely to experience an increase in their support when economic crisis culminates into an overall crisis of democratic representation. Economic crisis is likely to become a political crisis when severe issues of governability impact upon the ability of the state to fulfil its social contract obligations. This breach of the social contract is accompanied by declining levels of trust in state institutions, resulting in party system collapse.

Simon Chesterman, One Nation Under Surveillance – A New Social Contract to Defend Freedom Without Sacrificing Liberty

Oxford University Press 2011, ISBN 978-0-19-958037-8

Peace-republicans' manual; or, The French constitution of 1793, and the Declaration of the rights of man and of citizens, according to the Moniteur of June 27th, 1793; in the original French, together with a translation in English. To which is added: debates on this constitution in the National convention ... translated extracts from pieces seized in Babœuf's rooms; extracts from a translation of Rousseau's work on the Social contract; and various other extracts ...

Preface signed : Maria Aletta Hulshoff.

What’s a Country For? The Social Contract in the Global Era (Working Paper 11)

Presentation to the Conference on “Rethinking the Line: the Canada-U.S. Border,” Vancouver, British Columbia, October 22-25, 2000.

A educação social em Portugal: novos desafios para a identidade profissional

A Educação Social surge, em Portugal, devido sobretudo à exigência dos sistemas de proteção social. Enquanto profissão, a Educação Social realiza-se no âmbito das ciências da educação, enquadrada pela Pedagogia Social. A Educação Social desenvolve-se pela diversidade de categorias profissionais e de perfis de competências e áreas disciplinares. O reconhecimento da identidade profissional dos educadores sociais portugueses depende, ainda, da polivalência dos contextos de trabalho e populações com os quais interage. A sua identidade profissional deve evidenciar o compromisso educativo do seu trabalho social, que supera lógicas de ação assistencialistas e se centra em lógicas de desenvolvimento e capacitação dos sujeitos. Neste artigo, é dado destaque à Pedagogia Social, enquanto saber matricial de referência dos educadores sociais. A Pedagogia Social constitui-se como a ciência da Educação Social, conferindo-lhe a própria especificidade da profissão. Por outro lado, o exercício profissional da Educação Social requer dos seus profissionais uma formação rigorosa, inicial e contínua, de forma a incorporar novos saberes e posturas para se adaptar a novos desafios e realidades. A educação social deve ser capaz de acompanhar as políticas sociais, participando permanentemente na negociação do contrato social. Partindo destes pressupostos, é dado a conhecer alguns desafios que se colocam à Educação Social em Portugal.

Children in the welfare state. A social investment approach

Children occupy centre-stage in any new welfare equilibrium. Failure to support families may produce either of two undesirable scenarios. We shall see a society without children if motherhood remains incompatible with work. A new family policy needs to recognize that children are a collective asset and that the cost of having children is rising. The double challenge is to eliminate the constraints on having children in the first place, and to ensure that the children we have are ensured optimal opportunities. The simple reason why a new social contract is called for is that fertility and child quality combine both private utility and societal gains. And like no other epoch in the past, the societal gains are mounting all-the-while that families’ ability to produce these social gains is weakening.In the following 1 analyze the twin challenges of fertility and child development. I then examine which kind of policy mix will ensure both the socially desired level of fertility and investment in our children? The task is to identify a Paretian optimum that will maximize efficiency gains and social equity simultaneously.

Sollicitude, dépendance et lien social

La croissance de la population vieillissante en Amérique du Nord a un impact significatif sur nos politiques sociales. Ainsi, l’État québécois met à la disposition des personnes âgées une aide afin de faciliter le maintien à domicile. Qui a maintenant la responsabilité de répondre aux besoins des personnes âgées; est-ce la famille ou l’État? Si la réponse peut nous aider à formuler des politiques sociales équitables, elle nous pousse aussi à repenser le lien social à la lumière de la dépendance. Dans un premier temps nous nous pencherons sur l’évolution de l’éthique de la sollicitude pour ensuite analyser les apports des études sur la production du handicap. Puisque la problématique de la dépendance s’avère cruciale dans ce débat, les écrits de deux théoriciens français, Albert Memmi et Bernard Ennuyer, nous aideront à élucider la question de la dépendance. Nous verrons par la suite comment ces divers apports peuvent nous amener à reconceptualiser le lien social.

La actualidad y los retos de la RSE. Un modelo familiar de responsabilidad social empresarial

El presente texto comienza con la definición y explicación de algunos de los conceptos básicos de mayor importancia para la familiarización con el presente trabajo. A continuación construimos tres pilares fundamentales que soportan la idea de una actuación moralmente responsable. Empezamos con el reconocimiento de aportes éticos y filosóficos desde el siglo XVI hasta nuestros días. Seguidamente, examinamos el componente económico y el aspecto ético, en donde encontramos evidencia de la falta de compromiso moral de los actores económicos y hallamos evidencia que soporta al nuevo orden económico mundial. Por último, evaluamos el comportamiento que se debería seguir en el ámbito empresarial. Analizamos la conducta que debería guiar el camino empresarial; se debe buscar un punto medio en donde se es socialmente responsable y se logra incrementar los beneficios financieros. Tras apoyarnos sobre estos tres pilares llegamos al diseño de un modelo de responsabilidad social en el que las empresas deben ser vistas como una familia económica. Con esto intentamos hacer énfasis en la redefinición del contrato social, en el que las empresas vean a los stakeholders y al medio ambiente de la misma forma en que un padre responsable ve a sus hijos y a su familia. Quisimos hacer ver, inicialmente, un panorama extenso acerca del punto crítico en el que nos encontramos hoy buscando una concienciación general para el entendimiento que el bienestar social y ambiental favorece a todos, pues mejora la calidad de vida a nivel mundial y aumente el desempeño empresarial a lo largo del planeta.

Contrato social entre mujeres y hombres (Tema Central)

En esta intervención se pretende reflexionar acerca de una propuesta que ha ido ganando aceptación en los últimos tiempos: nos referimos al contrato social mujeres y hombres. Así, evocando el contrato social formulado por Rousseau como fundamento para la construcción del Estado, se pretende una nueva reedición del mismo. Un contrato que, se dice, se ha de celebrar entre los dos géneros, y mediante el cual deben fijarse las condiciones para una nueva convivencia social en la que participen por igual los ciudadanos y las ciudadanas.

Social citizenship, housing wealth and the cost of social care: is the Care Act 2014 'Fair'?

This article assesses the extent to which it is ‘fair’ for the government to require owner-occupiers to draw on the equity accumulated in their home to fund their social care costs. The question is stimulated by the report of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support, Fairer Care Funding (the Dilnot Commission) and the subsequent Care Act 2014. The enquiry is located within the framework of social citizenship and the new social contract. It argues that the individualistic, contractarian approach, exemplified by the Dilnot Commission and reflected in the Act, raises questions when considered from the perspective of intergenerational fairness. We argue that our concerns with the Act could be addressed by inculcating an expectation of drawing on housing wealth to fund older age: a policy of asset-based welfare.

O balanço social como estratégia de fortalecimento das práticas de responsabilidade socioambiental

A sociedade de hoje, não se contenta mais em cobrar das Organizações apenas o triângulo consagrado que trata especificamente da qualidade, custo e prazo. Consciente de seu papel no mundo globalizado, ela exige o envolvimento e o comprometimento dessas Organizações com as questões sociais e ambientais. Neste contexto, faz-se necessário investir na preservação da natureza, na sua relação com a sociedade e no estreito relacionamento com os envolvidos direta e indiretamente nesta difícil empreitada. Em respostas a essas demandas, a ciência contábil, frente às exigências deste mercado globalizado e em lugar do modelo gestão corporativa utilizado até recentemente, que tratava apenas dos resultados econômicos, criou o Balanço Social. Como instrumento estratégico de desenvolvimento corporativo, o Balanço Social permite que a sociedade visualize os resultados de seu comprometimento com o futuro da humanidade. Quem não procura se adaptar às novas exigências da sociedade global, tende ao fracasso. Esta pesquisa tem como agente principal apresentar se as empresas no Brasil aplicam o conceito de Responsabilidade Social em suas atividades, propondo a cidadania de forma séria e responsável. Foram observados os dados divulgados pela Petrobras, - Petróleo Brasileiro SA, Vale e Gerdau S.A,, descrevendo informações entre seus demonstrativos e relatórios com a aplicação a partir dos propostos pelo Instituto ETHOS. Foi investigado o quanto estas empresas atendem aos quesitos propostos e, com base nos resultados obtidos, indicar, o nível de seriedade que estas companhias praticam a questão. A preferência pelas empresas supracitadas como objeto de pesquisa se dá pela posição de destaque no cenário econômico nacional e mundial; por sua atuação em setores considerados de alto nível de degradação e consumo de recursos naturais; e pelo alto impacto social gerado pela organização no local onde está introduzida. Os resultados mostram que as empresas começam a visualizar as questões socioambientais, verifica-se esta informação devido aos montantes absolutos investidos, todavia esta preocupação não atingiu a idéia principal deste conceito de responsabilidade social, ao atender interesses estratégicos superficiais de promoção e auto-imagem.

A função social do contrato como concretização de direitos fundamentais nas relações privadas

This dissertation deals with the social function of the contract, based on constitutional principles, especially those relating to fundamental rights. The social function of the contract (general clause) is described in the Civil Code so intentionally generic, no precise criteria to define it. Because of the fluidity of this principle, it is justified its closer study, seeking to assess its various meanings and looking away from the legal uncertainty that an unlimited conceptual vagueness can cause. The social function of the contract arises from a transformation experienced in private law from the inflows received from the Constitutional Law, the result of an evolutionary process by which it became the state structure, leaving the foundations of the classical liberal state and moving toward a vision guided by existential human values that give the keynote of the Welfare State. Arose, then the concern about the effectiveness of fundamental rights in relations between individuals, which is studied from the inapplicability of fundamental rights in private relations (U.S. doctrine of State action), passing to the analysis of the Theory of indirect horizontal effect of fundamental rights (of German creation and majority acceptance), reaching the right horizontal efficacy Theory of fundamental rights, prevailing Brazilian doctrine and jurisprudence. It has also been investigated the foundations of the social contract, pointing out that, apart from the provisions of the constitutional legislation, that base the principle on screen, there have also been noticed foundations in the Federal Constitution, in devices like the art. 1, III, the dignity of the human person is the north of the relationship between contractors. Also art. 3rd, I CF/88 bases the vision of social covenants, equipping it for the implementation of social solidarity, as one of the fundamental objectives of the Republic. Still on art. 170 of the Constitution it is seen as a locus of reasoning in the social function of the contract, the maintenance of the economic order. It is also studied the internal and external aspects of the social function of the contract, being the first part the one that considers the requirement of respect for contractual loyalty, through the objective good faith, as a result of the dignity of the hirer may not be offended by the other through the contract. On the other hand, the external facet of the social function of the contract, in line with the constitutional mandate of solidarity, indicates the need for contractors to respect the rights of society, namely the diffuse, collective and individual third party. In this external appearance, it is also pointed the notion of external credit protection, addressing the duty of society to respect the contract. There has been shown some notions of the social contract in comparative law. Then, there has been investigated the content of principle study, through their interrelationships with other provisions of private and constitutional law, namely equality, objective good faith, private autonomy and dignity of the human person. We study the application of the social contract in contractual networks as well as the guidance of conservation of contracts, especially those denominated long-term captive contracts, considering the theory of substantive due performance, concluding with an analysis of the social contract in code of Consumer Protection

A ruptura do pacto social no pensamento de Sade

As obras de Sade procuram retratar as práticas corruptas e libertinas presentes no regime despótico de Luís XV, apontando invariavelmente a alcova como lugar privilegiado de transformação do corpo e da mente e, ao mesmo tempo, de produção filosófica. A atualidade do pensamento de Sade revela-se no fato de colocar como tendencia da modernidade, a constituição narcísica da subjetividade que, em sua variante político-social, aparece sob a forma do conformismo político. Este artigo pretende apresentar o pensamento de Sade como urna crítica aos liames sociais, o que conduz à ruptura da idéia de pacto social formulada por Rousseau. A doutrina sem compaixão de Sade torna-se filosofia negativa na medida em que fornece os fundamentos da crítica à razão instrumental. Sendo pessimista quanto aos rumos do existente, a teoria sadiana aponta a animalidade humana como possibilidade de transcendencia da artificialidade dos laços sociais.